On Thursday, the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has announced their 15-member World Cup squad for the upcoming ICC World Cup 2019. Dimuth Karunaratne, who has not played an ODI since the 2015 World Cup will lead the Islanders in the mega event. On Wednesday, Sri Lanka sacked Lasith Malinga as the ODI skipper as Karunaratner has taken over the reins as he recently led the Sri Lankan team during a Test series in South Africa.
Lahiru Thirimanne, spin-bowling allrounders Milinda Siriwardana and Jeevan Mendis, as well as Jeffrey Vandersay, have finally managed to be in the squad despite not playing any ODI game since at least 2017. At the same time, there are also some big names who have missed out. Such names are Niroshan Dickwella, Akila Dananjaya, Danushka Gunathilaka, and Upul Tharanga. Former skipper Dinesh Chandimal has also failed to make it to the squad.
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Veteran fast bowler Lasith Malinga has also been included in the squad but it would be interesting to see whether he plays the World Cup. Some of the recent media reports have suggested that he has made up his mind on retiring from the game after being removed as the captain.
Sri Lanka squad for ICC #CWC19 💪💪 pic.twitter.com/d0WGDzVqJ7
— Sri Lanka Cricket 🇱🇰 (@OfficialSLC) April 18, 2019
Nonetheless, the Sri Lankan team has been going through a rough time in recent years especially in ODIs. In 84 ODIs since the last World Cup, they have won 23 and lost 55. They have not won a single bilateral ODI series since May 2016. In their last outing, South Africa thrashed them 5-0. However, the Islanders will take confidence from their performance in recent World Cups. They made it to the final of the 2007 and 2011 editions before making it to the quarterfinal in 2015.
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The upcoming World Cup will start on May 30. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, will kickstart their campaign against New Zealand on June 1.
Sri Lanka ICC World Cup 2019 Squad:
Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera, Kusal Perera, Dhananjaya De Silva, Kusal Mendis, Isuru Udana, Milinda Siriwardana, Avishka Fernando, Jeevan Mendis, Lahiru Thirimanne, Jeffrey Vandersay, Nuwan Pradeep, Suranga Lakmal
