Sri Lanka have announced an 18-member squad for the first Test against Bangladesh from June 17, including six uncapped players.
SL v BAN: Six uncapped players called up for Angelo Mathews's farewell Test
On Sunday (June 15), Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) named an 18-man squad for the first of two Tests against Bangladesh at Galle and Colombo respectively. The first match of the series will be the final Test of Angelo Mathews's career, the veteran having called time on his career last month.
The Sri Lankan Test side is is transition following Mathews's retirement, as well as that of opening batter Dimuth Karunaratne earlier this year. A total of six uncapped players have made the cut for this match. Elsewhere, there is a recall for spinner Akila Dananjaya, whose last Test came in 2019.
SLC's release made special mention of fast bowler Lahiru Kumara, stating that he was "selected but will not play as he has suffered an injury during practices."
Who are the uncapped players in Sri Lanka's Test squad against Bangladesh?
Batters Pasindu Sooriyabandara and Pavan Rathnayake, wicketkeeper Lahiru Udara, all-rounders Sonal Dinusha and Tharindu Rathnayake, and pacer Isitha Wijesundara are the six new faces in the squad. Of these six, Udara has played for Sri Lanka before – a solitary T20I during the 2023 Asian Games.
The 25-year-old Sooriyabandara has been churning out runs in domestic cricket at a prolific rate. After 53 first-class matches, his batting average stands at 56.87, good enough to rank 20th-best of all-time among players with at least 50 matches. His most recent match saw him score an unbeaten century for Sri Lanka A, against their Afghanistan counterparts in April.
In fact, all six of these players were part of the XI – and starred – in that 'A' game. Udara and Dinusha scored centuries in the first innings while Pavan Rathnayake, like Sooriyabandara, scored an unbeaten century in the third innings. Wijesundara and Tharindu Rathnayake shared 15 of the 20 wickets between them, the former taking 10.
SL v BAN: Sri Lanka squad for Bangladesh Test series
Batters
Dhananjaya de Silva (c), Pathum Nissanka, Oshada Fernando, Angelo Mathews, Pasindu Sooriyabandara*, Pavan Rathnayake*.
Wicketkeepers
Lahiru Udara*, Dinesh Chandimal, Kusal Mendis.
All-rounders
Kamindu Mendis, Sonal Dinusha*, Tharindu Rathnayake*.
Bowlers
Prabath Jayasuriya, Akila Dananjaya, Milan Rathnayake, Asitha Fernando, Kasun Rajitha, Isitha Wijesundara*.
* = uncapped
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