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Friday, 22 July 2016 00:07 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By Madushka Balasuriya
Sri Lanka have named four uncapped players in their 15-man squad for the first Test against Australia in Pallekele later this month, all of whom have been drafted in from the Sri Lanka A squad currently touring England.
Following a recent spate of injuries, Sri Lanka’s fast-bowling reserves have been put under serious strain, and while Nuwan Pradeep has shaken off a knee injury to join Suranga Lakmal in spearheading the Lankan attack, they will be aided by the inexperienced pair of Vishwa Fernando and 18-year-old Asitha Fernando.
Vishwa had impressed during the course of the ‘A’ team tour, the highlight of which was a five-wicket haul against Durham, while Asitha also impressed taking eight wickets in two first-class matches against Pakistan A. He was also part of the Sri Lankan side that made it to the semi-finals of the Under-19 World Cup.
The spin department too will have a new face in left-arm wrist spinner Lakshan Sandakan, who will join Dilruwan Perera and Sri Lanka’s premier spinner Rangana Herath. Sandakan impressed with Sri Lanka A, picking up five wickets in a first-class match against Derbyshire.
The final potential debutante is 27-year-old right-hander Roshen Silva, who had been impressing with a series of consistent outings with the bat in England, while also averaging 50.58 in first-class cricket.
Allrounder Dhananjaya De Silva, who made his ODI debut against Ireland last year, also makes it into the squad having impressed throughout the recently concluded domestic season scoring 868 runs at 54.25, and taking 34 wickets at 14.23 apiece bowling off-spin for champions Tamil Union.
One player who will feel unlucky to miss out though is Milinda Siriwardana. The industrious allrounder has impressed in his Test career thus far, and was one of the few batsman who looked comfortable against the Australian bowling attack in the recent practice match, one in which he also captained the Sri Lankan XI.
The rest of the squad is unchanged from the one that took part in England, and will be led by Captain Angelo Mathews and his deputy Dinesh Chandimal.
Squad
1.) Angelo Mathews (C)
2.) Dinesh Chandimal (VC)
3.) Dimuth Karunarathna
4.) Kaushal Silva
5.) Kusal Janith Perera
6.) Kusal Mendis
7.) Dhananjaya de Silva
8.) Roshen Silva
9.) Nuwan Pradeep Fernando
10.) Vishva Fernando
11.) Asitha Fernando
12.) Rangana Herath
13.) Dilruwan Perera
14.) Lakshan Sandakan
15.) Suranga Lakmal
Sri Lanka Cricket has announced that, subsequent to due diligence and stringent evaluation, it has awarded the tender for the automation of ticketing and related services to BookMyShow.com.
Book My Show (BMS) is India’s biggest online movie, sports and events ticketing brand and is the ticketing partner of the BCCI, the ICC World T20 (2014, 2016), the IPL, the Indian Super League and F1 India amongst other partners.
They enjoy 90% of the market share for online ticketing and related services in India, and have managed ticketing for over 1,500 sporting events.
BMS’s first project will be the upcoming Australia tour, with tickets to be available for the first Test in Pallekele from 23 July online and ticketing outlets, the locations of which will be announced.
Under the contract, BMS will manage the automation of:
Sri Lanka Cricket believes that this augmentation will assist in bringing about a positive change to the accountability and transparency in the areas of ticketing and related services, taking Sri Lanka Cricket onto a global platform in technology-based services.
