Sri Lanka to face Zimbabwe with confidence

• First of the three ODI encounters begins on Sunday at PICS

By Shamseer Jaleel in Kandy

The Sri Lankan cricketers will go into the series against Zimbabwe with a lot of confidence to improve their current ranking, even though they’ve lost out on Avishka Fernando, Janith Liyanage and Kamil

Lalchand Rajput expected to join the team in Kandy for the 2nd One Day match

Craig Ervine leads the Zimbabwe outfit to SL

Important series for  Kusal Mendis after returning from his suspension

Mishara due to COVID. 

The first of the three one-day encounters will commence at the Pallekelle International Cricket Stadium (PICS) on Sunday (16 January). This encounter will be a day/night game.

Zimbabwe is led by Craig Ervine with the 15-member squad, who have got good memories when they beat the hosts 3-2 back in 2017 in the ODIs played at Hambantota. This three-match series at Pallekelle is part of the World Cup Super League (WCSL). The World Cup Super League will take place from July 2020 to March 2023. This is for the 2023 Cricket World Cup which is a 50-over format encounter format.

Ervine comes into this tour as skipper after leading the outfit to Ireland and Scotland last year. Takudzwanashe Kaitano, and wicket keeper Clive Madande will be on their maiden tour. A lot of vacuum was created once Brendan Taylor retired last year. Taylor also played for the Kandy outfit in the 2020 edition of the Lanka Premier League which took place in Hambantota.

Craig Ervine, Tendai Chatara, Sikandar Raza, and Sean Williams will find the Sri Lankan climate familiar to them as they toured in the last outing five years back. That series took place in deep down south in Hambantota.

This time around the three matches will be opened out for public with a 50% crowd being permitted with both vaccinations a mandatory requirement. The second vaccine must have been administered 14 days prior to the match. 

The major blow for Sri Lanka is losing Avishka Fernando and Janith Liyanage, who both tested positive and could not join the team to Kandy. The last player to be added to the list was the former Royal College player Kamil Mishara. Though he was with the team, he tested positive at the test two days back. He was in sparkling form for the Sri Lanka A team against the visiting Pakistan A outfit only two months back at the same venue. He scored two very good half-centuries missing out on a ton on both occasions. 

The return of Kusal Mendis and Dinesh Chandimal will ease out the pressure for the hosts who will go into this series with an Interim Head Coach in Rumesh Ratnayake with Chandima Mapatuna coming in as the Team Manager for this three-match series in the Central Hills. 

Kusal Mendis, who scored heavily in the recently concluded Lanka Premier League (LPL) for Galle outfit, was selected for this series. Dasun Chanaka and Dushamantha Chameera both were cleared to play after several medical tests. Still, the talented left-arm fast bowler, Vishwa Fernando could not make in to the team, but will remain as a stand by for the series in Kandy.

There was some bad news for the visiting Zimbabwe outfit as their Head Coach and LPL’s Kandy outfit Head Coach Lalchand Rajput from India tested positive for COVID-19 at the Bandaranayake International Airport (BIA) on arrival with the team. Measures were taken to isolate him in a hotel in Mount Lavinia. After several tests, if found negative, he is expected to join the team in Kandy for the second one-day match.

Sri Lanka is placed sixth in the Super league, while Zimbabwe stand in at 13th place; and this series is a must-win one for the visitors.

Sri Lanka Squad: Dasun Shanaka (C), Pathum Nissanka, Charith Asalanka, Dinesh Chandimal, Kusal Mendis, Minod Bhanuka, Chamika Karunaratne, Jeffrey Vandersay, Ramesh Mendis, Praveen Jayawickrema, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Nuwan Thushara, Chamika Gunasekera, Dinesh Chandimal, Nuwan Pradeep, Shiran Fernando and Kamindu Mendis.

Stand by: Vishwa Fernando, Ashen Bandara, Pulina Tharanga, Nimesh Vimukthi, Ashian Daniel and Asitha Fernando

Zimbabwe touring squad: Craig Ervine (C), Ryan Buri, Regis Chakabva, Tendai Chatara, Luke Jongwe, Takudzwanashe Kaitano, Clive Madande, Wesly Madhevere, Wellington Masakadza, Tinotenda Mutombodzi, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava, Sikandar Raza, Milton Shumba and Sean Williams.

Umpiring panel: Kumar Dharmasena, Ruchira Palliyaguruge, Raveendra Wimalasiri, Lyndon Hanibal and Prageeth Rambukwella

Match Referee: Ranjan Madugalle