Sri Lanka announce 18-member squad for Test series against India

Sri Lanka has named a 18-member squad for the upcoming two-match Tests series against India and they will be led by the experienced Dimuth Karunaratne. This will be the first Test series for Sri Lanka in India after almost five years, having made their last visit in 2017 and they have had some good performances in recent times as well. Wanindu Hasaranga will be a major miss for the series as he was ruled out of the tour due to a quarantine extension.

Meanwhile, this will be the last series for Suranga Lakmal in the international circuit as he has already announced his retirement coming into the series. The 34-year-old did a lot of damage against the Indian batting when Sri Lanka toured India last time and he has played 68 Tests so far picking up 168 wickets so far. Angelo Mathews has also returned to the squad after clearing his fitness issues.

The first Test between the two sides gets underway on March 4 in Mohali while the second Test starts from March 12 in Bengaluru. Sri Lanka staged a 2-0 victory in West Indies in their last Test series. Meanwhile, this will be a big test for them against the Indian outfit, which is coming after a 1-2 loss in South Africa.

India has already announced their Test squad for the two-match Test series and they have dropped the senior duo of Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara owing to their inconsistent form. Ishant Sharma and Wriddhiman Saha have also been axed while the series will mark the first game for Rohit Sharma as the permanent captain of India in the longer format.

Sri Lanka squad for India Test series

Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Pathum Nissanka, Lahiru Thirimanne, Dhananjaya de Silva (vc), Kusal Mendis (subject to fitness), Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Charith Asalanka, Niroshan Dickwella, Chamika Karunaratne, Ramesh Mendis (will not take part due to an injury), Lahiru Kumara, Suranga Lakmal, Dushmantha Chameera, Vishwa Fernando, Jeffrey Vandersay, Praveen Jayawickrema, Lasith Embuldeniya