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

Sri Lanka has announced an 18-member squad to play Pakistan in a two-match Test series beginning on July 16 in Galle. As compared to the squad that played against Australia in the recently concluded series at home, Praveen Jayawickrama, Lasith Embuldeniya, Lakshitha Manasinghe, and Chamika Karunaratne have been excluded.

Prabath Jayasuriya was the standout performer in Sri Lanka’s victorious second Test match as the bowlers bagged two six-wicket hauls, one in both innings, on debut and earned his name back into the squad. He will certainly keep his spot in the starting lineup, while Dunith Wellalage, the uncapped player, has been kept in the squad despite not having played against Australia.

Both Sri Lanka and Pakistan last faced Australia in the Test format. Pakistan’s efforts to restrict Australia from winning the first two matches were noteworthy, but they eventually lost the final game of the three-match series. The hosts, on the other hand, put up a remarkable performance in the second Test match after the visitors had taken a 1-0 lead.

Sri Lanka restricted the strong Australian team to a low score in the second innings of the game after posting a humungous total on board while batting. Thanks to Jayasuriya’s spell, the Australian batting order came crashing down and the host won the final game by an innings and 39 runs to level the series by 1-1.

The two tests will be played at Galle and Colombo in Sri Lanka

Speaking of the upcoming Test series, the island nation will host Pakistan at the Galle International Stadium in Galle for the first Test starting July 16. The second and final match will commence on July 24 at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Before starting with the Test series, Pakistan played a warm-up game against the Sri Lanka Cricket XI at the Colts Cricket Club Ground in Colombo. While Sri Lanka is placed third in the World Test Championship points table, Pakistan has taken the fourth spot.

SL Squad: Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Pathum Nissanka, Oshada Fernando, Angelo Mathews, Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Kamindu Mendis, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Dinesh Chandimal, Ramesh Mendis, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha, Vishwa Fernando, Asitha Fernando, Dilshan Madushanka, Prabath Jayasuriya, Dunith Wellalage, Jeffrey Vandersay