Sri Lanka name squad for Pakistan white-ball tour with Eshan Malinga picked Rajapaksa back in the T20 squad.
Eshan Malinga picked for Sri Lanka white-ball tour of Pakistan; Rajapaksa back for T20Is.
Sri Lanka’s vice-captain for the forthcoming T20I tri-series, which will also feature Pakistan and Zimbabwe, is Dasun Shanaka. Eshan Malinga, a fast bowler, will make his debut in the same series and will be part of the ODI team for the three games against Pakistan prior to the start of the tri-series.
The ODI squad includes 23-year-old uncapped middle-order batsman Pavan Rathnayake. Although he did reach a List A hundred at the end of July, this is a prize for longer-term domestic success rather than recent form.
Matheesha Pathirana is not in the T20I squad because he is recuperating from an upper respiratory tract infection, while Dilshan Madushanka has been ruled out of the ODI series due to a knee injury and has been replaced by Malinga. Asitha Fernando took Pathirana’s place.
After missing two bilateral series and the Asia Cup since his previous T20I match at the beginning of the year, top-order batsman Bhanuka Rajapaksa returned to the team for the shortest format. He struck at 163 across four innings in the most recent SLC T20 event, which contributed to his recall.
Nuwanidu Fernando, on the other hand, was left out even though he scored the highest in that SLC T20 competition. But he scored runs at a strike rate of 124.
Although left-arm spinner Dunith Wellalage was left out of both of the 16-man rosters, he and Nuwanidu will captain Sri Lanka A at the Rising Stars T20 Asia Cup in Doha later this month.
The ODIs between Sri Lanka and Pakistan are set to take place in Rawalpindi on November 11, 13, and 15. The tri-series will start on November 17 in Rawalpindi and Lahore, and the final is scheduled on November 29.