Praveen Jayawickrama and Lasith Embuldeniya, both left-arm spinners, have been left out of Sri Lanka’s 18-man team for the two-match Test series against Pakistan, which begins tomorrow (16).
Prabath Jayasuriya, who took a Test debut record 12 wickets against Australia, and uncapped Dunith Wellalage, who were brought into the Covid-hit team ahead of the second Test last week, have been named.
Due to their underwhelming performances, Embuldeniya and Jayawickrama have both been dropped. In his most recent two Tests, Embuldeniya only took one wicket and went for 177, while Jayawickrama failed to take a wicket and gave up 155 in a match played in Dhaka in May.
Wellalage, a 19-year-old who hasn’t played in a Test, had the most wickets in Sri Lanka’s victory over Australia in the one-day international series. Additionally, he provides some batting order down.
In an uncommon move, Sri Lanka has included two wicketkeepers in their squad: the current one, Niroshan Dickwella, and Dinesh Chandimal, a specialist batter in the previous two series.
The batting front offers no genuine surprises. After reaching 50 in his debut Test batting this week, Kamindu Mendis is certain of a spot.
The first Test will begin on July 16 in Galle, and the second Test will begin on July 24 in Colombo. The series will be a part of the World Test Championship, where Pakistan is currently ranked fourth and Sri Lanka third.
Squad: Dimuth Karunaratne (capt), Pathum Nissanka, Oshada Fernando, Angelo Mathews, Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Kamindu Mendis, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Ramesh Mendis, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha, Vishwa Fernando, Asitha Fernando, Dilshan Madushanka, Prabath Jayasuriya, Dunith Wellalage, Jeffrey Vandersay
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