Sri Lanka squad for ODI series finalised

 England captain Harry Brook (left) and Charith Asalanka at the launch of the ODI series yesterday (SLC)

By M. Shamil Amit

Sri Lanka picked a 17-member squad for the three match ODI series against England starting today and scheduled to be played under floodlights at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

The 17-member squad led by Charith Asalanka who retains the captaincy sees the return of three players in Dunith Wellalage, Milan Ratnayake and Dhananjaya de Silva.

Wanindu Hasaranga who has been included may be rested as he recovers from injury while Dushmantha Chameera has been rested with the selectors aiming to bring him back for the three match T20 series in preparation for the forthcoming ICC T20 World Cup.

Meanwhile all-rounder Dhananjaya de Silva comes back to side after a lapse of two years with his last appearance at the ICC World Cup in 2023. He along with Dunith Wellalage missed the Pakistan ODI series and are included in the squad.

Lahiru Udara who was in the squad for the Pakistan series has not been considered.

Sri Lanka’s bowling will have three fast bowlers in Asitha Fernando, Eshan Malinga and Pramod Madushan along with the two spinners Jeffrey Vandersay and Wanindu Hasaranga with support from all-rounder Milan Ratnayake and Dunith Wellalalge.

England led by Harry Brook has not played up to expectations and have lost 11 of the last 15 ODI matches that they have played. They will be playing an ODI series against Sri Lanka after a lapse of seven years with the last being the 2018-19 series which they won 3-1 with one match being washed out.

However with the two sides evenly balanced a keenly contested series could be expected. Most of the players in the two teams are in contention for the forthcoming ICC T20 World Cup which will be another deciding factor.

The squads

Sri Lanka – Charith Asalanka (captain), Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Pavan Ratnayake, Dhananjaya de Silva, Janith Liyanage, Kamindu Mendis, Dunith Wellalage, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jeffrey Vandersay, Maheesh Theekshana, Milan Ratnayake, Asitha Fernando, Pramod Madushan, Eshan Malinga

England – Harry Brook (captain), Rehan Ahmed, Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Jos Butler, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Luke Wood.