Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) selectors led by chairman Asantha de Mel dropped former captain Dinesh Chandimal and off-spinner Akila Dananjaya from the 15-man squad for the ICC World Cup in England & Wales.
Dimuth Karunaratne will be leading the side but the selectors have not named his deputy for the tournament. De Mel informed that the vice-captain will be selected on 'match-by-match' basis.
The big omissions from the squad were former captain Chandimal and wicketkeeper-batsman Niroshan Dickwella. De Mel said that the selectors were following a ‘horses-for-courses’ policy and that Chandimal’s poor form with the willow went against him.
The chief selector was also full of praise for new skipper Karunaratne, who last played ODI cricket for Sri Lanka in the 2015 World Cup. Karunaratne though, was the captain of the Test side which posted a historic win over South Africa recently.
Karunaratne scored 165 runs in four games in the Provincial tournament with a top-score of 86. “Dimuth is not a slow batsmen by any means, not even in Test cricket. I saw him score 86 in the Provincial and it was scored quicker than a run-a-ball. We need solid batsmen at the top, who can give us big centuries in the World Cup,” De Mel said about Karunaratne’s return to the ODI set-up.
SLC have also brought in allrounders Milinda Siriwardana and Jeevan Mendis and leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay, despite the three players not playing an ODI for Sri Lanka since 2017. Dhananjaya de Silva was also preferred over off-spinner Dananjaya.
“In the Provincial tournament, Dhananjaya was the best off-spinner on show. His batting is a bonus and he comes into the side in the No. 6 position. Jeevan Mendis gives us the ‘three-dimensional’ option with his leg-spin because he is batting well and his fielding is superb.
Apart from the 15-man squad, Oshada Fernando, Kasun Rajitha, Wanindu Hasaranga, and Angelo Perera will also travel with the team as four back-up options, to be used in case of an injury.
Sri Lanka Squad
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