Dinesh Chandimal to lead as Sri Lanka announces squad for Bangladesh T20I series

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) on Wednesday (February 7) has named the 15-member squad for the impending two-match Twenty20 International series against Bangladesh, as Test skipper Dinesh Chandimal is bound to lead the Islanders.

According to the press release of the Board, Minister for Sports Dayasiri Jayasekera has given a green signal to the squad after it was framed by the selection committee.

Earlier, the limited-overs skipper and allrounder Angelo Mathews was ruled out of the short-paced tournament due to a long-standing hamstring injury which he further nursed in the recently concluded Tri-Nation series.

In the recent statement from SLC, the 30-year-old Mathews was bound to lead the national side until 2019 World Cup in the limited-overs cricket.

Recently, another allrounder Thisara Perera was appointed as the interim skipper for the Lions in the limited-overs cricket.

The 22-year-old fast bowler Madushanka Kumara has been picked for the T20 squad which further saw him bagging three scalps in his maiden outing against Bangladesh on January 27 so far.

The right-batsman and slow left-arm orthodox spinner Amila Aponso, who made his debut in August 2016 against Australia has returned to the national fold.

The Colombo-based Aponso played so far six ODIs for the Lions in which he bagged seven wickets with the best figures of four for 18.

On the other side, the 20-year-old Asitha Fernando has been roped in the squad who played the solitary international match against Zimbabwe at Hambantota in July 2017.

Moreover, the brief series will be kicking off with the first Twenty20 International on February 15 and will culminate with the second and final T20I on February 18.

The first fixture will be held at Sher-e-Bangla stadium in Dhaka and the second will be played at Sylhet International Cricket Stadium.

After the first Test was drawn in Chittagong, the hosts Bangladesh will be facing in the series decided which will be beginning on Thursday (February 8) in Dhaka.

However, the bowling allrounder Isuru Udana has previously featured in the T20I against Pakistan at Lahore in October 2017 after senior players were concerned about the security in the politically troubled country.

Here’s the list of a 15-member squad to feature in Bangladesh T20I series:

Dinesh Chandimal (skipper), Upul Tharanga, Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Perera, Asela Gunaratne, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Thisara Perera, Dasun Shanaka, Isuru Udana, Shehan Madushanka, Jeffrey Vandersay, Akila Dananjaya, Amila Aponso, Jeevan Mendis and Asitha Fernando.

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