Wanindu Hasaranga comes out of retirement for Bangladesh Tests

Colombo, Mar. 18 (Daily Mirror) - Sri Lanka Cricket has named a 17-member squad and Wanindu Hasaranga, who announced his retirement from Test cricket last year, has made a comeback for the ICC World Test Championship series against Bangladesh, commencing on March 22.

Also, uncapped off-spinner Nishan Peiris has been called up to the Sri Lanka squad. The 26-year-old replaces fast bowler Milan Ratnayake from the recent Test match against Afghanistan.

Hasaranga, the leg-spinning all-rounder joins a formidable spin bowling lineup alongside Prabath Jayasuriya, Ramesh Mendis, and all-rounders Nishan Peiris and Kamindu Mendis.

Sri Lanka has added fast bowler Lahiru Kumara to the squad, replacing the injured Asitha Fernando. Kumara, boasting 74 wickets in 26 matches, last represented Sri Lanka in March 2023 against England. His return strengthens Sri Lanka’s seam attack, joining Vishwa Fernando, Kasun Rajitha and Chamika Gunasekera.

The team will be led by Dhananjaya de Silva with experienced players such as former skippers Dimuth Karunaratne, Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal also included in the squad.

In their recent performance, Sri Lanka secured victory in the one-off Test match against Afghanistan by 10 wickets with a day to spare.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh has announced a 15-member squad for the first Test against Sri Lanka, with former captain Litton Das making a return to the Test side after missing the previous series against New Zealand due to paternity leave. Litton’s absence led to Najmul Hossain Shanto being named captain for the series and subsequently becoming the captain across all three formats last month.

This ICC World Test Championship series against Sri Lanka marks Najmul’s first assignment as the full-time Test captain. (UPDATED)