Familiar faces return to SL squad against Bangladesh

By Madushka Balasuriya

A host of familiar names have returned to the fold in Sri Lanka’s first post-World Cup squad, as they named their 22-man squad for the upcoming home series against Bangladesh. 

Niroshan Dickwella, Danushka Gunathilaka, Akila Dananjaya, and Lakshan Sandakan are some of the notable returnees, which means there’s no room for all-rounders Milinda Siriwardena and Jeevan Mendis, veteran seamer Suranga Lakmal, and young leg spinner Jeffrey Vandersay.

The omissions come as little surprise, with Vandersay having seen minimal game time at the World Cup, Siriwardena and Mendis having failed to live up to their ‘three-dimensional’ tags, and Lakmal not a regular in the limited-overs setup.

With home conditions likely to favour spinners, Sri Lanka has unsurprisingly stocked up in that department. Both Dananjaya and Sandakan have recently toured India with the Sri Lanka A team, and spent much of that time working on their game with national spin bowling coach Piyal Wijetunge who was on tour with them. 

Meanwhile the likes of Wanindu Hasaranga, Amila Aponso, and Shehan Jayasuriya will be eyeing up a vacant spin-bowling allrounder position in the side. Dhananjaya De Silva, who picked up five wickets at 39.40 in the World Cup, will also be an option.

On the batting front, the returns of Dickwella, Gunathilaka, and Dasun Shanaka, will likely put pressure on what selectors had recently deemed a fairly settled top six. Dickwella scored two centuries and a 50 against India A recently, while Shanaka had shown glimpses of form on the same tour. 

Gunathilaka meanwhile hasn’t played any cricket since a domestic provincial tournament prior to the World Cup, but is being selected on the form he had shown for much of 2018, which had been disrupted by a poor disciplinary track record.

Lasith Malinga, who is set to retire following the Bangladesh tour, will lead a fast-bowling unit also including Kasun Rajitha, Nuwan Pradeep and Lahiru Kumara. Lahiru Madushanka will also be part of that contingent, though following impressive performances with bat and ball for Sri Lanka’s emerging team in South Africa recently, the selectors may look at him as an allrounder option following the underwhelming World Cup had by Isuru Udana and Thisara Perera.

Bangladesh will play their first warm-up game against a Sri Lanka Board XI on 23 July, before the first ODI takes place on 26 July.