Avishka, Ramesh get call for England Test series
Avishka Fernando and Ramesh Mendis have got their maiden call-up to the Test side as national selectors added six more players to the squad as injury replacements for the England series.
Former skipper Angelo Mathews who pulled out of the South African series, due to a hamstring injury he sustained during the Lanka Premier League (LPL), has also been called up along with Lakshan Sandakan, Nuwan Pradeep and Roshen Silva. They are currently in training and will join a bio-secure bubble shortly to make themselves available for the Test series.
They are replacing injured Kasun Rajitha, Dhananjaya de Silva, Oshada Fernando, Dilshan Madushanka and probably Lahiru Kumara.
Avishka Fernando has been a regular for Sri Lanka in white ball cricket since the World Cup in England in 2018 and his inclusion to the Test side looks surprising at this point in time given his first class performances.
The right handed former St. Sebastian College cricketer has played only 22 first class games so far in his short career, scoring 1179 runs at 31.86. On the other hand Ramesh Mendis’ selection is well thought out. The 25-year-old has been a prolific run-scorer in domestic cricket, maintaining a healthy average above 43 in his 45-match career. He scored a career-best unbeaten 300 for Moors SC against Negombo SC during the last first class tournament.
He is also a handy off-spinner and could be a perfect fit for batting-allrounder Dhananjaya de Silva. Missing from the squad is Pathum Nissanka, the 22-year-old top-order bat who has the best first class average among current players. He has an average of 67.54 with 13 first class hundreds and as much half centuries in 33 games.
Chinaman Sandakan’s inclusion is no surprise as he has been a regular feature in home Test series in the last couple years. Seamer Nuwan Pradeep comes back into the squad after more than three years since playing his last Test match against Pakistan in 2017. A veteran of 28 Test matches, Pradeep has picked up 70 international wickets but due to his susceptibility to injury he has been preferred for the two shorter-formats since of late.
Batsman Roshen Silva — a prolific run-getter in domestic circuit — gets his first call up in two years, having featured last in the away Test series against Australia in 2019. Silva has played 12 Tests scoring 702 runs with a century and a five half centuries.
Seamer Kasun Rajitha and Lahiru Kumara sustained groin injuries during the first Test against South Africa and were ruled out of the final Test starting today. Rajitha will also miss the England series, according to sources, but the team management wants to look at Kumara closely before ruling him out completely. Oshada Fernando though travelled to South Africa, hoping to recover in time for the second Test from the ankle injury he sustained during the LPL. However, he is yet to recover and has been omitted from the England series, sources confirmed. Rookie pacer Dilshan Madushanka travelled with the team to South Africa but is yet to make his debut. He will miss the home Tests against England.
Sri Lanka will play two Test matches against England starting January 14. Both matches will be played at the Galle International Cricket Ground.