Sri Lanka names provisional WC squad
All three were withdrawn from the ongoing Asia Cup and are currently in rehabilitation due to injuries they sustained during the Lanka Premier League (LPL) tournament in August. They are now in a race to regain fitness ahead of the tournament in India.
The ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 will begin with defending champions England taking on losing finalists New Zealand of the 2019 edition on October 5 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Chameera aggravated his right pectoral muscle injury during the LPL and the team management is currently working on getting him ready for the World Cup in October without the risk of further injury. Sources said Chameera will commence bowling on September 14 in a bid to prove his fitness to secure passage to India. The squad deadline is set for September 25 and the selectors are hoping the right-arm pacer will be fully ready by then.
Madushanka had torn an oblique muscle during a practice game ahead of the Asia Cup, forcing him to withdraw from the Asia Cup tournament. Although his inclusion is subjected to fitness, his chances of making it into the side are high.
Hasaranga is nursing a Grade II hamstring injury that requires a minimum of three to four weeks of rest. He damaged his hamstring during B-Love Kandy’s last play-off game against Galle Titans.
Missing from the squad is Lahiru Kumara, the speedster who was also withdrawn from the Asia Cup squad due to a side strain he picked up during the LPL. The team management hopes the speedster will improve his fitness, conditioning, and robustness before being considered for national selection. His withdrawal from the Asia Cup is largely owing to his current fitness levels which put him at greater risk of injury and of being unable to complete the full quota in a 50-over game.
Apart from Chameera and Madushanka, the squad features two fast bowlers — Kasun Rajitha and Matheesha Pathirana. While Pathirana was part of the original Asia Cup squad, Rajitha is an injury replacement. And with Kumara still to get his fitness back to the accepted level, Rajitha has been offered a spot.
With the return of Hasaranga, the selectors have left out Dushan Hemantha, with 20-year-old Dunith Wellalage earning a place along with Maheesh Theekshana, a regular in the spin department.
Also missing out is Chamika Karunaratne, the fast bowling all-rounder who has gone out of favour since the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe. He was part of the squad that played the qualifiers but did not feature in a single game and was subsequently dropped from the Asia Cup and, now, the World Cup. Karunaratne has played 23 ODIs, picked up 24 wickets and scored 443 runs at 27.68.
The batting department remains the same as during the Asia Cup squad despite questions being raised over the form of Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka. Shanaka is going through a lean patch with the bat, having managed only 115 runs off 17 matches since hitting his career-best, an unbeaten 108, against India in Guwahati at the start of the 2023 season.
While his own form has dipped, his record as captain has been impressive, having won 12 matches on the trot this year (excluding yesterday’s game against Bangladesh) since losing the opening match of the three-match home series against Afghanistan.
Shanaka is credited for bringing a resurgence to the white-ball team. He had led Sri Lanka to 21 wins since taking over the captaincy and losing 13 matches during a tough period. He also led Sri Lanka to the Asia Cup title in 2022.
But it is not his captaincy that is now in focus but his form with the bat. There are calls to give him a rest but selectors are reluctant to change a winning combination. If the trend continues, however, they could be compelled to make a call towards the latter part of the Asia Cup or before the World Cup.
“Dasun is working very hard at the moment, as he always does. We’re working hard with him at the moment so he can get the runs that we know he can,” Sri Lanka coach Chris Silverwood said ahead of Sri Lanka’s Asia Cup Super 4 match against Bangladesh on Friday.
Former skipper Angelo Mathews, who has gone out of favour, has spoken of his desire to play the World Cup. He played in the recent LPL tournament. Mathews has played primarily as a batter in recent years due to injury concerns but bowled during the LPL, saying he was targeting a World Cup spot. However, he is not being considered for the provisional squad.
| Squad: Dasun Shanaka (Captain), Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis, Charith Asalanka, Kusal Janith Perera, Dhananjaya de Silva, Sadeera Samarawickrema, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Kasun Rajitha, Matheesha Pathirana, Dilshan Madushanka
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