Sri Lanka recently returned home from a disastrous tour of England that saw them lose the Test series 2-0, the five-match ODI series 3-0 (with one tie and one washout) and also concede the only Twenty20 worldwide in chilly English conditions.
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Australian coach Darren Lehmann expects David Warner to be fit to play next Tuesday’s first Test against Sri Lanka in Kandy.
Dhananjaya de Silva, who has made ODI and T20 worldwide debuts, and had been in the national team’s Test squad to England, has also been named.
At 18, Asitha Fernando is by a distance the youngest member of the squad, and has only played two first-class matches so far – both of them against Pakistan A, in England.
The squad will be captained by Angelo Mathews with Dinesh Chandimal serving as his deputy.
Dhammika Prasad, who returned home from Sri Lanka’s tour of England to recover from a shoulder strain, has missed the bus once again. Siriwardana averages 33.11 from five Tests with a highest of 68, while his left-arm spin has fetched him 11 wickets including a best of 3 for 25.
Joining them would be chinaman exponent Lakshan Sandakan who has shown enormous promise at the first-class level.
Sandakan’s selection wasn’t a surprise given his brilliant showing for Colombo Cricket Club in the 2015-16 Premier League Tournament, where he bagged 52 wickets. Similarly, Australia will have to win 2-0 or better against seventh-ranked Sri Lanka to ensure they don’t go below the current 118 points. He has been among the most consistent batsmen in the domestic circuit.
Roshen scored a century against Durham last month and posted a half-century versus Pakistan A this month.
Chandimal will continue to play the role of wicketkeeper while Kusal Perera will don the role of a specialist middle-order batsman.
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Rangana Herath and Dilruwan Perera were the two frontline spinners in the squad, while Nuwan Pradeep, Sri Lanka’s highest wicket-taker in England with 10 scalps in three Tests, and Suranga Lakmal headlined the fast-bowling department.
