New selectors name white-ball squads for Zimbabwe tour
New white-ball skippers Kusal Mendis (13) and Wanindu Hasaranga (49) will have former two skippers around them - File pic
The new cricket selection committee led by Upul Tharanga has recalled off-spinner Akila Dananjaya to white-ball cricket–two years after the 30-year-old last represented Sri Lanka–while veteran batter Angelo Mathews has been brought back to the T20 side in the preliminary squads announced for the forthcoming home series against Zimbabwe.
Dananjaya, who represents Colts, has been impressive in spin-friendly conditions as he currently leads the bowling charts with 17 wickets in the ongoing Major Club Limited Over Tournament, including a best of 5 for 46 against Air Force on Thursday. It remains to be seen whether he can earn a place among the final 15, with Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage and Jeffery Vandersay all fighting for the three available slots.
Mathews, the 36-year-old veteran, joined the World Cup team in India halfway through the tournament as an injury replacement. He last featured in a T20 for Sri Lanka in March 2021. However, he played a key role in B-Love Kandy, winning the Lanka Premier League title this year. With the T20 World Cup just around the corner, the selectors may be looking at the former skipper as an all-round option.
The Sunday Times can confirm his inclusion came as a result of the request made by Sri Lanka’s new T20 skipper Wanindu Hasaranga–who was also the captain of the B-Love Kandy team.
The 21-man ODI squad which is expected to be pruned down to 15 by tomorrow, also sees the return of batters Avishka Fernando, Sahan Arachchige, Kamindu Mendis, Janith Liyanage and bowlers Pramod Madushan, Asitha Fernando, Vandersay and Chamika Gunasekera. Liyanage is the highest scorer in the ongoing Major Club tourney, scoring 383 runs in six matches.
Missing out from the ODI squad are Kusal Janith Perera, Dhananjaya de Silva, Angelo Mathews, Dimuth Karunaratne, Matheesha Pathirana, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara and Dushan Hemantha.
Although part of the World Cup squad, none of these players made an impression during the tournament as Sri Lanka crashed to seven defeats out of nine games. As reported earlier Charith Asalanka will be the deputy to Kusal Mendis who has replaced Dasun Shanaka as the full-time ODI skipper. Mendis led Sri Lanka in seven matches at the World Cup after Shanaka was ruled out with an injury.
Shanaka, despite having had a year-to-forget, has been retained in both ODI and T20Is preliminary squads for the Zimbabwe series following a decent outing with the bat in the ongoing domestic tournament.
Bhanuka Rajapaksa, a short format specialist who is yet to live up to his promise, has once again been recalled to the T20 side. Rajapaksa has hit 678 runs in 37 matches for Sri Lanka and last played in a T20 international against India in Pune in January this year. While he missed out on his place in the ODI team, the selectors have named Dhananjaya de Silva in the T20 squad.
Kamindu Mendis, an under-rated cricketer, has been included in both squads but whether the former youth skipper can earn a place in the 15-man squad remain to be seen. The selectors have also named Kusal Janith Perera in the 22-man T20 squad. Nuwan Thushara, who earned a jackpot at the recent IPL auction has also been recalled to the T20 side along with Matheesha Pathirana.
Sri Lanka had an underwhelming World Cup winning two out of the nine contested. In T20 internationals, Sri Lanka had only one win out of seven games in 2023. These led the board to get heads rolling, getting new selectors and appointing Sanath Jayasuriya to overlook team training, hoping the new changes would herald a new year of success.
This new chapter starts next Saturday when Sri Lanka takes on Zimbabwe in a three-match ODI series and as many T20 internationals to be played at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. The three ODIs will be played on January 6, 8 and 11 and three T20Is on January 14, 16 and 18. When the tourists last visited the island, Sri Lanka beat them 2-1 in the ODI series.
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