Colombo [Sri Lanla], March 6 (ANI): Dimuth Karunaratne has made a return to the Test side as Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) on Saturday announced a 17-member squad for the two-match Test series against West Indies.
The cricket board also informed Lahiru Thirimanne, Dhananjaya De Silva, Roshen Silva, Vishwa Fernando, and Lasith Embuldeniya will leave for the Caribbean on Saturday night to take part in the Test series, which starts from March 21.
“The National Cricket Selectors have chosen the following squad to play the 02 Match Test Series vs West Indies. The squad was approved by the Minister of Youth and Sports Honorable Namal Rajapaksa,” the SLC said in an official statement.
Earlier, Sri Lanka all-rounder Dasun Shanaka, who had missed the flight to West Indies due to an issue related to securing his visa, will now travel on Sunday to join his teammates.
Shanaka, who was named in the ‘White Ball Squad’ for West Indies series, did not travel with the team due to a visa issue he confronted, pursuant to the loss of his previous passport, which had a valid visa for the USA stamped on it.
Sri Lanka Cricket on Friday said that the all-rounder will now travel to West Indies via France and is expected to join the national team during the ODI segment of the tour.
Sri Lanka and West Indies are currently locking horns in the T20I series. West Indies defeated Sri Lanka in the first T20I on Wednesday (local time) but the visitors made a comeback displaying an all-round performance in the second T20I on Friday (local time)
Both teams would now lock horns in the third and final T20I on Sunday. After the T20I series, West Indies will shift focus towards the 50-over format. The first ODI between Sri Lanka and West Indies will be played on March 10.
Sri Lanka squad: Dimuth Karunaratne (Captain), Dasun Shanaka, Pathum Nissanka, Oshada Fernando, Lahiru Thirimanne, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Niroshan Dickwella, Roshen Silva, Dhananjaya De Silva, Wanindu Hasaranga, Ramesh Mendis, Vishwa Fernando, Suranga Lakmal, Asitha Fernando, Dushmantha Chameera, Lasith Embuldeniya. (ANI)
