Dasun Shanaka likely to be named in Sri Lankan team for T20I against India

Young all-rounder Dasun Shanaka is likely to be named in the Sri Lankan squad for the one off T20I match against India. Team Sri Lanka have had a horrid time during the ongoing series against the Indian side. They were thoroughly outplayed in the Test series and had to endure a severe whitewash with three big defeats being inflicted on them. Then came the ODI series, and the fortunes of the islanders did not change one bit.

A string of poor performances have summarized the kind of time they have been having in the international cricket in the recent times. Barring the second ODI where Akila Dhananjaya’s heroics got them close to have a sniff at an elusive win in the series, they have shown little or no competition to the strong Indian side whatsoever.

Amidst this situation, their only chance of savoring some pride will be in the one off T20I to be played on September 6. During the course of the series, the hosts have seen their side being depleted right from the first day of the first Test when Asela Gunaratne had fractured his finger. Despite having a depleted side, the selectors ignored someone like Dasun Shanaka.

Coach hints at possible inclusion

It was very strange to see him out of action from the ODI series and the chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya has been in the firing range for the same reason. As per the recent reports in CricketAge.in, the Sri Lankan batting coach Avishka Gunawardena has hinted at the possible inclusion of Dasun Shanaka in the playing eleven at the expense of batsman Kusal Mendis.

Shanaka could well be the response from Sri Lanka for India’s all-rounder Hardik Pandya. Shanaka bats with a strike rate of 114 and 152 in the ODIs and T20Is respectively. He has hit as many as 58 sixes in his young T20 career and is tipped as one of the cleanest hitters in Sri Lankan cricket.