7 May 2021 12:10 am
Angelo Mathews (L) and Dinesh Chandimal
By Bipin Dani
Sri Lanka’s national selection committee met the four senior players who were axed for the upcoming tour of Bangladesh and suggested that they were still being considered for limited over cricket.
The national selectors, led by Pramodya Wickramasinghe, had invited six senior players who were dropped for the ODI series in Bangladesh for a discussion yesterday, where it was also conveyed what was expected of them.
“It was explained to the four players that it is not the end of the road for them. Whenever, their services will be needed they will be called. They were asked to keep themselves fit. It was also explained to them how the think tank is considering preparing future teams and what the strategy means for them,” a source said.
The four players who attended the meeting were Dinesh Chandimal, Nuwan Pradeep, Roshen Silva and Dilruwan Perera.
Now-former ODI captain Dimuth Karunaratne and Angelo Mathews did not attend the meeting due to prior commitments, it is learnt and they may meet the selectors next week.
“The selectors also heard from them about their future plans and what they thought about contributing to make the team world class,” the source, privy to the development, said.
The selectors had also invited Thisara Perera but as he had already announced his retirement, he was not present at the meeting.
Head coach Mickey Arthur was also not there in the meeting, but he had already spoken to a few seniors, it is learnt.