Sri Lanka recalls discards for T20 World Cup

• Dickwella, Rajapaksa named in 25-member preliminary squad
• 3 teams to play series of matches from 2 May before final selection

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

Experience is what Sri Lanka lacked in the ICC 50-over World Cup tournament in India last November when the previous national selection committee opted for youth and paid a heavy price with Sri Lanka finishing ninth out of ten teams in the league with two wins and seven losses.

Not wanting to repeat the same mistakes the present selection committee headed by former white ball Captain Upul Tharanga has included several experienced players in their preliminary squad of 25 players named for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup to be held in the USA and the Caribbean in June.

With the current selection committee prepared to give more weightage to experience, players who have been discarded for lack of form and discipline have been recalled to the squad before the final 15 is picked.

Bhanuka Rajapaksa who has not played for the national side for the past 15 months and Niroshan Dickwella who last appeared in a T20I for his country in June 2021 in England find themselves in the 25.

After his match winning innings of 71* against Pakistan in the final in Dubai in September 2022 helping Sri Lanka to win the Asia Cup, Rajapaksa had failed to reach 50 in his last nine innings and was dropped from the side at the beginning of last year. It was not only form but Rajapaksa also had fitness issues which he could not maintain to remain in the team.

Dickwella’s problem was different. Apart from poor form with the bat he had disciplinary issues which proved a setback to his career, notably when he was among three players banned for breaching bio-bubble protocols on the tour of England in 2021. After being on the sidelines for nearly three years Dickwella was recalled for the T20I series in Bangladesh last month when Kusal Perera was ruled out with a respiratory infection. In picking him ahead of young players like Shevon Daniel and Lasith Croospulle, chairman of selectors Upul Tharanga said that a player of Dickwella’s experience was needed going into a tournament of the magnitude as the T20 World Cup.

It was the same argument Tharanga gave in picking leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay ahead of a promising 22-year-old leggie in Vijayakanth Viyaskanth and 21-year-old all-rounder Dunith Wellalage for the Bangladesh series. However both Vandersay and Viyaskanth have been named in the 25-member pool. Viyaskanth pushed forward his credentials further for inclusion when he was picked by Sunrisers Hyderabad as replacement for injured Wanindu Hasaranga in the ongoing IPL tournament. Wellalage who has yet to appear in a T20I has also been included.

The majority of the squad of players that played in the recent three T20I series against Zimbabwe, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, all won by Sri Lanka have been retained.

Five players in the squad Matheesha Pathirana and Maheesh Theekshana (Chennai Super Kings), Nuwan Thushara (Mumbai Indians), Dushmantha Chameera (Kolkata Knight Riders) and Viyaskanth (Sunrisers Hyderabad) are currently playing in the IPL, while the rest of the squad have commenced training at the R. Premadasa Stadium.

With Sri Lanka not having any international T20I commitments till the T20 World Cup in June, Tharanga said that they are planning to pick three teams from the squad and outside it to play a series of matches at the R. Premadasa Stadium from 2 May. Each team will play a minimum of four T20 matches (2 day games and 2 night games). The final squad for the T20 World Cup will be selected after these games.

SRI LANKA PRELIMINARY SQUAD OF 25 FOR T20 WORLD CUP

Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis, Niroshan Dickwella, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Kamindu Mendis, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dunith Wellalage, Chamika Karunaratne, Angelo Mathews, Dushmantha Chameera, Dilshan Madushanka, Asitha Fernando, Matheesha Pathirana, Pramod Madushan, Binura Fernando, Nuwan Thushara, Maheesh Theekshana, Akila Dananjaya, Jeffrey Vandersay, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth.