Sri Lanka who already has a new captain to lead their Test side against Zimbabwe in the ongoing series have named another new skipper for the upcoming one-day tri-series against Zimbabwe and West Indies.
Left-hand batsman Upul Tharanga’s chequered cricket career reached its peak when he was named captain of the Sri Lanka team for the one-day triangular which commences at Harare on November 14.
This will be the first time that Tharanga has been given the honour to lead the national team although he has led teams in domestic cricket. Tharanga, 31 who has appeared in 188 ODIs for his country scored an undefeated 110 in the first Test against Zimbabwe at Harare last week, his
second Test hundred in 10 years. Dashing left-handed opener Kusal Perera has been named Tharanga’s vice-captain.
Their appointments come on the back of the unfitness of captain Angelo Mathews and ice-captain Dinesh Chandimal. “Both Angelo and Chandimal have still not recovered from their injuries 100
percent. We are hopeful they will be fit for the South African series next month,” said Sri Lanka Cricket CEO Ashley de Silva. Mathews who is recovering from a calf muscle strain and Chandimal from a fractured thumb were both left out of the ongoing Test series against Zimbabwe.
In their absence left-arm spinner Rangana Herath was appointed captain to lead Sri Lanka in the two-Test series. Sri Lanka won the first Test by 225 runs and go into the second Test today at Harare hoping to make a clean sweep of the series.
Fast bowler Nuwan Kulasekara who retired from Test cricket recently has been named in the 15-member squad for his first ODI match since January. Also making a welcome return from injury are fast bowler Nuwan Pradeep and right-arm leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay.
Batsman Asela Gunaratne and fast bowler Lahiru Kumara both of whom made their Test debuts in the first Test against Zimbabwe are the only players not to have appeared for Sri Lanka in ODIs in the squad.
SRI LANKA ODI SQUAD: Upul Tharanga (captain), Kusal Perera (vice-captain), Dhananjaya de Silva, Niroshan Dickwella, Kusal Mendis, Shehan Jayasuriya, Asela Gunaratne, Sachith Pathirana, Nuwan Kulasekara, Dasun Shanaka, Nuwan Pradeep, Lahiru Kumara, Suranga Lakmal, Lakshan Sandakan, Jeffery Vandersay.