New Zealand vs Sri Lanka 2018/19: Lasith Malinga Named Captain in ODIs, T20Is

Another change in the captaincy took place for Sri Lanka in the limited-overs side. The board has now asked the veteran fast bowler, Lasith Malinga to lead the team in the white-ball format against New Zealand. Meanwhile, the young wicketkeeper-batsman, Niroshan Dickwella got appointed as the deputy to Lasith Malinga. In the recently concluded series, Dinesh Chandimal led the team in ODI series. For T20I, the all-rounder, Thisara Perera took the reigns. However, it was all the past, as the new committee is confident of Lasith Malinga delivering the goods.

Malinga’s experience will help Sri Lanka – Selectors

Meanwhile, Malinga had been dropped from Sri Lanka’s teams for over a year, due to form and fitness concerns. However, he had made his return to the top level during the Asia Cup 2018 in September and been consistent enough to trouble the batsmen.

Speaking of the change in captaincy, the new selector, De Mel quoted Dinesh Chandimal has failed to take his calls during the games. He claimed Chandimal always looks for the suggestion from the dressing unit, which isn’t the quality of a captain. Thus, they want to change the captain in the shorter formats.

De Mel said to Sunday Observer: “Chandimal, every time he wants to make a change he is looking at the dressing room. As captain, he should be able to stand on his feet and take a decision.”

Angelo Mathews returns to the squad:

Moreover, the experienced cricketer on the Islander’s chart, Angelo Mathews makes a return to the side. Initially, He got dropped controversially from the team by blaming his poor running between the wickets.

However, the reason didn’t please Mathews, who lashed out at the selectors. Meanwhile, Akila Dananjaya was found illegal in the recent bowling Test. Meanwhile, it opened gates for Lakshan Sandakan and Seekuge Prasanna to make it into the side.

Here is the squad:

ODI and T20I: Lasith Malinga (capt.), Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Angelo Mathews, Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Perera, Dinesh Chandimal, Asela Gunaratne, Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Thisara Perera, Dasun Shanaka, Lakshan Sandakan, Seekkuge Prasanna, Dushmantha Chameera, Kasun Rajitha, Nuwan Pradeep, Lahiru Kumara.