Sri Lankan squad for the one-off T20I against India announced

The Sri Lankan cricket team has been going through a poor patch recently. Whether it was the series defeats against Bangladesh or their early exit from the Champions Trophy, it has cast a shadow of doubt on the capabilities of the team. Last month, the hosts were also defeated by Zimbabwe in the ODI series in their own backyard 3-2.

The embarrassment has continued with India decimating them in the Test series and also completing a 5-0 whitewash in the ODI series. Their batting collapses, poor bowling and fielding failures have altogether left the Sri Lankan fans hapless and in dismay. They have been frustrated to such a level that some of the fans at Pallekele threw bottles in the stadium.

In what has been a winless series for them, the T20 international on Tuesday gives the hosts one final chance of ending this terrible tour on a good note. So far, the Sri Lankans have even failed to put up any competition to challenge the Indians, forget winning a game. Thus, it would be an important game for the hosts to take something good out of this series.

In what was the last Sri Lankan selection committee meeting headed by Sanath Jayasuriya, they announced a 15-man squad for the lone T20 game against India at Colombo on September 6. Sri Lanka is placed 8th in the T20 rankings while Team India occupies the fifth position.

Upul Tharanga is back as the Sri Lankan captain. All-rounder Dasun Shanaka and leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay have been recalled to the side. The match starts at 7 pm IST and hopefully would be an interesting contest, unlike all the other matches on this tour.

Sri Lanka squad for the one-off T20I:

Upul Tharanga (C), Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Angelo Mathew, Dilshan Munaweera, Dasun Shanaka, Milinda Siriwardena, Wanindu Hasaranga, Akila Dananjaya, Jeffrey Vandersay, Isuru Udana, Seekkuge Prasanna, Thisara Perera, Lasith Malinga, Suranga Lakmal, Vikum Sanjaya.