Sri Lanka squad for Australia Tests announced, star player returns after two years

Sri Lanka, on Friday (January 24), announced their Test squad for the upcoming two-match Test series against Australia. The two teams will be playing the series for the Warne-Murali Trophy.

Both the Tests will be played in Galle. The first Test will be played from January 29 while the second Test will get underway on February 6. The upcoming series will be the last series of the ongoing World Test Championship cycle that began in 2023 and will conclude with the final in June this year.

Australia and South Africa have booked their spots in the final already and will be fighting it out for the Test mace later this year. On the other hand, Sri Lanka are languishing at the fifth spot in the WTC points table and will be looking to end the cycle on a winning note.

Also Read: Watch: David Warner pulls off a jaw-dropping catch at mid-off in BBL 2024-25 challenger

Sri Lanka squad announced

From the Sri Lanka squad that featured in the two-Test series against South Africa a couple of months ago, two players have lost their spots. Kasun Rajitha and Lasith Embuldeniya have been dropped from the squad. Neither Rajitha nor Embuldeniya played in any of the two Tests against South Africa.

While dropping two players, Sri Lanka have include three players in the squad for the Australia Tests. Lahiru Udara, Sonal Dinusha, and Jeffrey Vandersay have been added to the Sri Lanka squad for the forthcoming series.

Vandersay has played only one Test so far and has earned the recall after impressing in limited-overs cricket in recent times. His only Test appearance for Sri Lanka came in the 2022 Galle Test against Australia. On the other hand, Udara and Dinusha are yet to represent Sri Lanka in the longest format of the game.

Dinusha has not played for Sri Lanka in any format. A bowling allrounder, he has played 44 first-class games so far and has taken 94 wickets in addition to scoring 2285 runs including 6 centuries and 12 half-centuries.

Udara has represented Sri Lanka in only one T20I so far. His lone appearance for Sri Lanka came during the 2023 Asian Games contest against Afghanistan.

SL squad for Australia Tests:

Dhananjaya De Silva (c), Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Kamindu Mendis, Kusal Mendis, Oshada Fernando, Lahiru Udara, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Sonal Dinusha, Prabath Jayasuriya, Jeffrey Vandersay, Nishan Peiris, Milan Rathnayake, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando and Lahiru Kumara

Here’s the Sri Lanka Test Squad ready to take on the Warne-Murali Test Series 2025 at the iconic Galle International Cricket Stadium!
Let’s rally behind our lions as they gear up for this epic battle! #SLvsAUS #SriLankaCricket pic.twitter.com/Zst8FR9XdH

— Sri Lanka Cricket 🇱🇰 (@OfficialSLC) January 24, 2025