Sri Lanka vs England: SLC announces ODI and Test squads

England team will fly all the way down to the subcontinent for a long 42-day tour in Sri Lanka, which will kick-start with five ODIs, followed by a single T20I and three Test matches. The Lankan lions, who are coming into this series after a horrendous debacle in the Asia Cup, will be very desperate to cover up for the lost ground.

Dinesh Chandimal will be continuing as the captain of the Test squad shortly after being re-assigned with the captaincy responsibility in the ODIs as well. Angelo Mathews, the all-rounder who led the side in the Asia Cup, was apparently asked to relinquish his duties and eventually, he got axed from the ODI squad.

Although there’s an abundance of talent in the side, the promise they offer doesn’t seem strong enough to get the better of this English side. But all non-Asian sides are pretty vulnerable when they visit the subcontinent and with some decent spin talent in their arsenal, the hosts would be eager to cash in on that.

Mathews dropped from ODIs

Digging deeper into the squad strengths, apart from Angelo Mathews‘ surprising exclusion, Nuwan Pradeep has been called back into the limited-overs set up. The tall and lanky fast bowler has not been performing well for his national side in recent times, but he will be eager to take this opportunity to prove a point. Even Kusal Mendis has been dropped after consistently failing and has been kept in the standbys by the selectors.

In the Test squad, Lahiru Kumara did find his name in the list but his fitness is still in doubt as mentioned by the Sri Lankan Cricket. The experienced campaigners Lasith Malinga and Rangana Herath will have a crucial role to play in the ODI and Test setup respectively and the fans would be desperate for a turnaround in fortunes after the Asia Cup debacle.

Sri Lanka ODI Squad: Dinesh Chandimal (c), Upul Tharanga, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Niroshan Dickwella, Dhananjaya de Silva, Thisara Perera, Akila Dananjaya, Dushmantha Chameera, Lasith Malinga, Amila Aponso, Lakshan Sandakan, Nuwan Pradeep, Kasun Rajitha, Kusal Perera

Sri Lanka Test squad: Dinesh Chandimal (c), Dimuth Karunaratne, Kaushal Silva, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva, Roshen Silva, Dilruwan Perera, Rangana Herath, Muthumudalige Pushpakumara, Akila Dananjaya, Suranga Lakmal, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara*, Lakshan Sandakan, Niroshan Dickwella

(* indicates subject to fitness)

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