Sri Lanka have included six uncapped players in their squad for the first Test of the two-match series against Bangladesh, at Galle.
Sri Lanka squad for the first Bangladesh Test match
Sri Lanka have announced their squad for the first Test of the two-match series against Bangladesh, at Galle. The Test will be the last of Angelo Mathews’s illustrious career.
Capped cricketers
Dhananjaya de Silva (c), Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Kusal Mendis (wk), Pathum Nissanka, Oshada Fernando, Angelo Mathews, Kamindu Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Akila Dananjaya, Milan Rathnayake, Asitha Fernando, Kasun Rajitha
Uncapped cricketers
Pavan Rathnayake (wk), Pasindu Sooriyabandara, Sonal Dinusha, Tharindu Rathnayake, Lahiru Udara, Isitha Wijesundara
1st Test, Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh
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Who are the six uncapped cricketers?
Lahiru Udara (wicketkeeper, opening batter)
M: 105 | 7,305 runs at 41.98, HS: 290*, 16 hundreds, 37 fifties | Ct: 164, St: 28
The only one of the group with any international experience, 31-year-old Udara played a T20I in the 2023 Asian Games. More recently, he made 787 runs – the most of anyone – at 56.21 in the 2024/25 Major League Tournament in Sri Lanka, followed by a hundred against Afghanistan A. A heavy scorer in Sri Lanka domestic cricket for a few years, he is very likely to replace Dimuth Karunaratne at the top, perhaps right away.
Pavan Rathnayake (top-order batter, occasional wicketkeeper)
M: 48 | 3,068 runs at 47.20, HS: 240, 10 hundreds, 9 fifties | Ct: 72, St: 5
At 22, Pavan is one of Sri Lanka’s most promising young batters, and has rapidly risen through the ranks to make it to the Sri Lanka A side. It has been barely a month since he smashed a 106-ball 100 not out against Afghanistan A. He may not start immediately, but his chance may come once Angelo Mathews retires after the first Test.
Pasindu Sooriyabandara (top-order batter)
M: 53 | 3,981 runs at 56.87, HS: 242, 12 hundreds, 19 fifties
Sri Lanka A captain Sooriyabandara, only 25, is another batter tipped to replace Mathews in the second Test (or even find a place in the first Test). In the last Major League season, no one scored more runs than his 620 runs at a better average than his 88.57. Among all Sri Lankans with 2,000 first-class runs, only Kamindu Mendis has a better batting average.
Sonal Dinusha (left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder)
M: 48 | 2,478 runs at 40.62, HS: 145, 7 hundreds, 12 fifties | 99 wickets at 24.79, BBI: 8-67, 6 5WIs, 2 10WMs
Quality left-arm spinners are not a rarity in Sri Lankan cricket. What makes Dinusha stand out is his batting credentials. Over time, that may make him a vital component in the Test XI, especially outside Asia.
Tharindu Rathnayake (ambidextrous spin-bowling all-rounder)
M: 73 | 1,761 runs at 21.47, HS: 86, 9 fifties | 337 wickets at 29.30, BBI: 9-65, 26 5WIs, 5 10WMs
If Mendis was not enough, Sri Lanka now have a second ambidextrous bowler. Unlike Mendis, however, Rathnayake is more of a bowling all-rounder who chips in with runs. His 9-65 for Tamil Union against Burgher Recreation was the only nine-wicket haul in Sri Lanka domestic cricket this season.
Isitha Wijesundara (right-arm medium-fast bowler)
M: 44 | 112 wickets at 20.42 | BBI: 7-34, 5 5WIs, 2 10WMs
A late call-up for the injured Lahiri Kumara, Wijesundara routed Afghanistan A with 6-35 and 4-75 last month. A bowler of brisk pace, he had 20 wickets at 21.10 in the recent edition of the Major League on surfaces that offered him little.
All records are in first-class cricket
