Kusal Perera will play for the first time in more than a year, and Angelo Mathews will make his more than two-year-long comeback to Sri Lanka’s white-ball squad. Both players were a part of the 18-man squads Sri Lanka Cricket announced for the upcoming white-ball matches against New Zealand, which were the ODI and T20I squads, respectively.
The squads also have room for uncapped hitters Sahan Arachchige and Lasith Croospulle. Further chosen are the seamer Matheesha Pathirana, who is vying for his first ODI cap, and the batsman Nuwanidu Fernando, who is set to make his T20I debut.
As a result, the team that toured India did not include Avishka Fernando, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Ashen Bandara, Nuwan Thushara, or Jeffrey Vandersay.
Following a disastrous ODI tour of India earlier this year, suggestions to include more seniors in a year of the ODI World Cup surfaced. As a result, both Mathews and Perera were added.
The recall of Perera is intriguing. Almost no domestic cricket has been played in the previous 16 months as a result of a shoulder ailment. Despite the fact that Sri Lanka is probably considering him as a possible option for the ODI World Cup, he is currently solely a member of the T20 team in order to manage his workload.
Since Sri Lanka’s March 2021 trip of the West Indies, Mathews has not played for the white-ball teams. His most recent experience with restricted overs came in two matches for Sri Lanka A against the England Lions, when he hit a fifty, and the Lanka Premier League, where he scored 201 runs for the Colombo Stars at an average of 40.20. He has improved his fitness over the past year, but seam-bowling experts do not consider him to be a consistently reliable choice.
What new faces are there?
Croospulle, who bats first, scored two hundreds against the England Lions and a fifty in a List-A matchup with the same squad.
Another player who performed well against the Lions was Arachchige, who recorded significant cameos from the lower order in addition to taking wickets with his offbreaks. In a strong run of form that began with the LPL, Nuwanidu also stood out against the Lions, scoring two fifty-plus scores and adding a fifty against India. Arachchige will play in the ODIs, while Croospulle and Nuwanidu are on the T20I team.
The most notable absence is that of Avishka, who had recently rejoined the national team for the India tour following a strong performance in the LPL, where he finished as the competition’s top scorer. At the most recent four-day NSL event, he also made 67 and 150. Selectors were forced to omit him because to his bad performance in India and dismal performances against the England Lions, as well as the tough competition for top-order positions.
Rajapaksa’s exclusion is less troubling because the batter has been playing like a shell of the player who won Player of the Match in the Asia Cup final in recent months. Bandara’s exclusion is also explained by the competition for spots.
How the remaining teams perform
The rest of Sri Lanka’s team appears to be very composed. Dasun Shanaka will captain both teams, while the majority of the batting for both white-ball squads will consist of players like Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Sadeera Samarawickrama, and Chamika Karunaratne.
Together with Kasun Rajitha, Dilshan Madushanka, Lahiru Kumara, Pramod Madushan, and Pathirana, who have all been included in both teams, Karunaratne, who also bowls seam, is a member of a pace unit. Dushmantha Chameera was initially expected to participate, but because of his long history of injury problems, the selectors are limiting his playing time.
In a press release, SLC said that because the bowler is currently through his organized return to play program as part of his rehabilitation program after having surgery on his left ankle, he would not be able to tour. In the T20I team, Madushan has taken his spot, and Pathirana has taken his place in the ODI squad.
Nonetheless, Thushara can consider himself a little unlucky for not being given a game versus India despite having a strong Record. Sri Lanka has a wide variety of seam bowlers to choose from, and with Pathirana, they already have another slinger who provides a little more pace.
With the addition of the youthful all-rounder Dunith Wellalage to Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana, there are even fewer surprises among the spinners. Due to Sri Lanka’s lack of need for an additional spin option in New Zealand, Vandersay is disadvantaged.
The first ODI leg will begin on March 25 in Auckland, and Sri Lanka will play three ODIs and three T20Is against New Zealand. Start date for the T20Is is April 2.
T20 squad: Dasun Shanaka (capt.), Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (wk), Dhananjaya De Silva, Charith Asalanka, Kusal Janith Perera, Lasith Croospulle, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Nuwanidu Fernando, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara, Dilshan Madushanka, Chamika Karunaratne, Matheesha Pathirana, Pramod Madushan.
ODI squad: Dasun Shanaka (capt.), Pathum Nissanka, Nuwanidu Fernando, Kusal Mendis (wk), Angelo Mathews, Charith Asalanka, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Dhananjaya De Silva, Sahan Arachchige, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara, Pramod Madushan, Dilshan Madushanka, Chamika Karunaratne, Matheesha Pathirana.
