The English cricket team will be touring to Sri Lanka for as many as 42 days, and the long grueling tour will England team will commence with five ODIs, followed by a single T20I and three Test matches. The Lankan lions, who are coming into this series after a horrendous debacle in the Asia Cup, will be very desperate to cover up for the lost ground.
Dinesh Chandimal will be continuing as the captain of the Test squad shortly after being re-assigned with the leadership responsibility in the ODIs as well. Angelo Mathews, the all-rounder who led the side in the Asia Cup, was apparently be sacked from his captaincy duties and eventually, he got dropped from the ODI squad as well.
Although the team is lacking talent as the promise they offer doesn’t seem strong enough to defeat a strong English side. But all non-Asian sides are pretty vulnerable when they visit the subcontinent and with some decent spin talent in their arsenal, the hosts would be eager to cash in on that.
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Digging deeper into the squad strengths, apart from Angelo Mathews‘ surprising exclusion, Nuwan Pradeep has been called back into the ODI squad. The tall and lanky pacer has not been performing well for his national side in recent times, but he will be eager to take this opportunity to prove a point. Even Kusal Mendis has been axed after consistently failing and has been kept in the standbys by the selectors.
In the Test squad, Lahiru Kumara did find his name in the team but his fitness is still in doubt as mentioned by the Sri Lankan Cricket. The veteran players like Lasith Malinga and Rangana Herath will be playing a crucial in the ODI and Test setup respectively and the fans would be desperate for a turnaround in fortunes after the Asia Cup debacle.
Sri Lanka ODI Squad: Dinesh Chandimal (c), Upul Tharanga, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Niroshan Dickwella, Dhananjaya de Silva, Thisara Perera, Akila Dananjaya, Dushmantha Chameera, Lasith Malinga, Amila Aponso, Lakshan Sandakan, Nuwan Pradeep, Kasun Rajitha, Kusal Perera
Sri Lanka Test squad: Dinesh Chandimal (c), Dimuth Karunaratne, Kaushal Silva, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva, Roshen Silva, Dilruwan Perera, Rangana Herath, Muthumudalige Pushpakumara, Akila Dananjaya, Suranga Lakmal, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara*, Lakshan Sandakan, Niroshan Dickwella
