Sri Lanka name three uncapped women players for NZ tour

• Two Sri Lanka Women’s Under-19 cricketers, including Captain, make the cut
• New Zealand Women Captain opts out of Sri Lanka series

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

Sri Lanka have named three uncapped women players in their squad of 16 for their six-match cricket tour of New Zealand starting later this month.

Sri Lanka Women’s Under-19 Captain and all-rounder 17-year-old Manudi Nanayakkara, Sri Lanka Women’s Under-19 bowling all-rounder 18-year-old Rashmika Sewwandi, and Chethana Vimukthi, the 23-year-old right-handed all-rounder from Badulla, are the three uncapped players picked for the squad which will be captained by Sri Lanka’s versatile all-rounder Chamari Athapaththu.

The rest of the squad is an experienced unit with several WODIs and WT20Is behind them.

The Sri Lanka Women’s cricket team gained automatic qualification for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 in India, and this tour of New Zealand will comprise two warm-up matches in Lincoln before they play a three-match WODI series and a three-match WT20I series against New Zealand.

The team will leave for New Zealand on 22 February.

New Zealand recently gained direct entry to the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 after Bangladesh lost the last match of their ICC Women’s Championship series against the West Indies in Basseterre.

New Zealand were assured the direct berth as they finished ahead of Bangladesh on the basis of registering more wins (nine to Bangladesh’s eight) after both teams finished with 21 points in the 10-team tournament, which saw all teams play eight three-match series – four at home and four away.

Hosts India and the other top five teams were assured direct qualification, while the bottom four get a chance to make it through a Qualifier.

Australia won the championship with 39 points, while India finished a close second with 37. England (32), South Africa (25), and Sri Lanka (22) are the other teams to have ensured direct berths to the World Cup.

Bangladesh (21), West Indies (18), Pakistan (17), and Ireland (eight) will be joined in the Cricket World Cup Qualifier by Scotland and Thailand, after which the remaining two slots will be filled.

Meanwhile, New Zealand Women’s Captain Sophie Devine will not be available for their ODI and T20I series against Sri Lanka as she continues to “prioritise her well-being.” She had earlier pulled out of the Women’s Super Smash midway and also opted out of the WPL for the same reason after “receiving professional advice.”

“We are fully supportive of Sophie’s decision to not take part in the upcoming series,” New Zealand Cricket’s Head of Women’s High Performance Liz Green said in a statement on Monday. “Player well-being is our highest priority and its important Sophie feels fit and well before returning to professional cricket.”

Sri Lanka Women’s squad for New Zealand:

Chamari Athapaththu (Captain), Harshitha Samarawickrama, Vishmi Gunaratne, Nilakshi de Silva, Kavisha Dilhari, Anushka Sanjeewani, Manudi Nanayakkara, Imesha Dulani, Achini Kulasuriya, Udeshika Prabodhani, Sachini Nisansala, Kaushini Nuthyangana, Inoshi Fernando, Sugandika Kumari, Rashmika Sewwandi, Chethana Vimukthi

Sri Lanka’s New Zealand tour itinerary:

27 February: Warm-Up at BSO, Lincoln

28 February: Warm-Up at BSO, Lincoln

4 March: First ODI at Mclean Park, Napier

7 March: Second ODI at Saxton Oval, Nelson

9 March: Third ODI at Saxton Oval, Nelson

14 March: First T20I at Hagley Oval, Christchurch

16 March: Second T20I at Hagley Oval, Christchurch

18 March: Third T20I at University Oval, Dunedin