Sri Lanka Cricket Announce Squad Against Windies, Dimuth Karunaratne Overlooked

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) named a 17-man squad for the three-match Test series against Windies. The Board revealed the news on Friday (May 11).

Dimuth Karunaratne, the opener of the side has been dropped from the squad. Meanwhile, Angelo Mathews and Suranga Lakmak on the other side were included in the squad.

However, their inclusion was subject to the fitness level. The Lankan board revealed the news through a  statement. The tour of Sri Lanka will start from 30^th May.

Eventually, it will proceed with a three-day warm-up match. Meanwhile, the first Test is slated to kick off from sixth June at Trinidad.

The 30-year-old opener Karunaratne fractured a finger while practising in the nets. He was preparing for a limited-overs domestic tournament. The southpaw has made 3,186 runs in 49 Tests so far. He has been a good find for Lanka at the top of the order.

There are few relatively unknown names in the squad. Niroshan Dickwella will don the gloves.

Kusal Mendis has been one of the pillars of Sri Lanka in the middle order. He has been quite a consistent player for the national team. However, the top order needs to grab the opportunity with both hands.

The fast bowlers are likely to be Suranga Laknal and Lahiru Kumara given the fact that both are fit ahead of the opening Test against Windies.

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The Islanders hasn’t been quite a force especially in the longest format of the game. They have occasional games. However, the consistency hasn’t been there which has resulted in several results going against them in the recent times.

Experienced campaigner Rangana Herath, the left-arm spinner will continue to spearhead the attack of Sri Lanka.

Squad:

Dinesh Chandimal (c), Mahela Udawatte, Kusal Mendis, Kusal Janith Perera, Dhananjaya de Silva, Roshen Silva, Angelo Mathews, Niroshan Dickwella, Rangana Herath, Dilruwan Perera, Akila Dananjaya, Jeffrey Vandersay, Lahiru Gamage, Kasun Rajitha, Suranga Lakmal, Lahiru Kumara, and Asitha Fernando.

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