Dasun Shanaka named captain of Sri Lanka’s 20-man squad for tour of India

New Delhi:  Sri Lanka Cricket Selection Committee on Wednesday revealed the 20-member squad, captained by fast-bowling all-rounder Dasun Shanaka, to take part in the upcoming tour of India starting from January 3.

In an apparent leadership shake-up, batter Kusal Mendis and leg-spin all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga have been appointed as vice-captains in the ODI and T20I squads, respectively.

Sri Lanka have given a call-up to uncapped right-handed batter Nuwanidu Fernando, who made 211 runs in eight innings of 2022 Lanka Premier League, for ODIs, while big-hitting left-handed batter Bhanuka Rajapaksa has been included only for the T20I leg of the tour.

Avishka Fernando, who was leading run-getter in the 2022 Lanka Premier League, and was player of the match in the final, is back in the squad after being out due to injury. Sadeera Samarawickrama, who was the second highest run getter in the competition and was Player of the Tournament, has been also picked in the squad.

Pace all-rounder Chamika Karunaratne, who was handed a one-year suspended ban by the SLC over contract breach during the Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia, has landed a place across both squads. Right-arm fast-bowler Nuwan Thushara has been picked for the T20Is after taking 14 wickets in the Lanka Premier League, the most by a Sri Lankan bowler in the competition.

Sri Lanka will be playing three T20Is against India in Mumbai (January 3), Pune (January 5) and Rajkot (January 7). It will be followed by three ODIs to be played in Guwahati (January 10), Kolkata (January 12) and Thiruvananthapuram (January 15).

Squad: Dasun Shanaka (captain), Pathum Nissanka, Avishka Fernando, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Kusal Mendis (Vice Captain for ODIs), Bhanuka Rajapaksa (Only for T20Is), Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Wanindu Hasaranga (Vice Captain for T20Is), Ashen Bandara, Maheesh Theekshana, Jeffrey Vandersay (Only for ODIs), Chamika Karunaratne, Dilshan Madushanka, Kasun Rajitha, Nuwanidu Fernando (Only for ODIs), Dunith Wellalage, Pramod Madushan, Lahiru Kumara, and Nuwan Thushara (Only for T20Is).

–IANS