Test discard Dhananjaya De Silva to lead Sri Lanka A on Caribbean tour

Colombo, Sri Lanka (CMC): Test batsman Dhananjaya De Silva will lead a 16-man Sri Lanka A squad on the tour of West Indies starting next week.

The 26-year-old played the last of his 10 Tests against India last August, and averages 38 with two centuries already under his belt.

Twenty-year-old Charith Asalanka, an off-spinning all-rounder who led the Sri Lanka Under-19s last year, will serve as De Silva’s deputy.

Sadeera Samarawickrama and Roshen Silva, both of whom are part of the Test squad in the ongoing series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates, will join the A side once that series wraps up.

Neither player has played an international match for Sri Lanka.

The squad has been bolstered by the inclusion of three other players with Test experience, with fast bowlers Dasun Shanaka and Lahiru Kumara, along with left-arm spinner Malinda Pushpakumara, having played 11 Tests among them.Sri Lanka A is expected to leave on Friday for Jamaica where they play three four-day Tests and as many one-dayers against West Indies A, from 11 October to 5 November.

Squad — Dhananjaya De Silva (captain), Charith Asalanka (vice-captain), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Roshen Silva, Sandun Weerakkody, Ron Chandragupta, Shehan Jayasuriya, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Amila Aponso, Malinda Pushpakumara, Chamika Karunaratne, Lahiru Kumara, Vimukthi Perera, Asitha Fernando and Kasun Rajitha.