Dhananjaya de Silva Set to join Sri Lanka Test squad

Sri Lanka batsman Dhananjaya de Silva will join national team’s Test squad to face the Windies after originally withdrawing himself from the tour following the assassination of his father, Ranjan de Silva.

Meanwhile, the assassination bid took place 12 hours before their flight to Dubai. Silva will land on the Caribbean shores on June 4, two days prior to the first Test in Port of Spain.

However, it is unlikely that he will feature in the first Test after travelling for more than a day – to reach the Island nation. He, though, will look to be a part of the second Test starting from June 14 at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground.

The promising batsman de Silva has so far featured in 13 Test matches for Sri Lanka. Moreover, he recently made a comeback during the Delhi Test against India last year. His unbeaten century in the second innings salvaged some pride for the Lankan team.

Further, de Silva carried that form to the Bangladesh series, notching a daddy hundred in the Chittagong Test.

Previously, it was likely that Dhananjaya will miss the three-match series, however, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) had not named a replacement for him.

Dhananjaya de Silvas’s father, Ranjan de Silva, had recently contested in the local government elections. On May 25, he was shot at Mount Lavinia, a municipality south of Colombo.

The doctors pronounced Ranjan dead on reaching the hospital while the other two sustained injuries.

Meanwhile, St. Lucia and Barbados will host the other two Test matches.

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