Sri Lanka ODI squad for series against Australia announced, Chamindu Wickramasinghe kicked out

Sri Lanka National Cricket Team have announced the squad for the upcoming two-match ODI series against Australia National Cricket Team. Fast bowling all-rounder Chamindu Wickramasinghe, who played the last series against the New Zealand National Cricket Team, has been dropped from the team.

The two-match ODI series between the Sri Lanka National Cricket Team and the Australian National Cricket Team is all set to take place from 12th February, followed by a second match to be played on 14th February. Both the matches will be played in Colombo.

The Sri Lanka squad for the Australia series is similar to what they had against New Zealand

The Sri Lanka squad for the Australia series is similar to what they had against New Zealand. The hosts have opted for spin-heavy bowling, which means the conditions for both games will be spin-friendly and won't be a high-scoring series as well.

The hosts had to choose between Chamindu Wickramasinghe and Dunith Wellalage for the series, and it was the latter who got the nod ahead. This was because of utility with the bat and efficient left-arm spin, which has helped the island nation win many games.

Asitha Fernando and Lahiru Kumara are the two front-line pacers in the team, while young pacers Mohamed Shiraz and Eshan Malinga have retained their place team. The spin department will be boasted by Wanindu Hasaranga, Mahesh Theekshana, and Jeffrey Vandersay, along with all-rounders in Wellalage and captain Charith Asalanka.

The Charith Asalanka-led side are not part of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, but it will be a great opportunity for them to ruin the confidence of the Australia National Cricket Team, who seem strong favorites to win the event, especially after winning the ICC World 2023.

Sri Lanka faced a loss in the Test series against Australia

The island nation, of late, have played a decent brand of cricket and have won matches against big teams. Although they aren't in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, it will be a great opportunity for them to go forward and build their team for the ICC World Cup 2023.

The hosts didn't have a great outing with the bat and ball in the Test series against the Australia National Cricket Team. The Dhananjaya de Silva-led faced the whitewash in the two-match series as they lost both games of the series by a massive margin.

They would now want to make a comeback in the ODIs and give their fans something to cheer about. They also didn't have a great outing in the series against New Zealand as they lost by the margin of 2-1.

Sri Lanka squad for the two-match ODI series against Australia

Here's the Sri Lanka squad for the two-match ODI series against Australia

Charith Asalanka(c), Pathum Nissanka, Avishka Fernando, Nuwanidu Fernando, Kusal Mendis, Janith Liyanage, Dunith Wellalage, Kamindu Mendis, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lahiru Kumara, Asitha Fernando, Mohamed Shiraz, Eshan Malinga, Maheesh Theekshana, Jeffrey Vandersay, Lahiru Kumara.

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