Two New Cricket Captains for Sri Lanka-by Michael Roberts

Michael Roberts

Item in The Island, 31 December 2023 ….. with highlighting imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi

Dasun Shanaka’s reign as Sri Lanka’s white-ball captain has come to an end as Sri Lanka’s new selection committee appointed Kusal Mendis and Wanindu Hasaranga to lead the ODI and T20I sides, respectively. With Dimuth Karunaratne currently leading the Test side, this is the first time Sri Lanka have three different captains in the three formats.

Shanaka first captained Sri Lanka in 2019, on the team’s first tour to Pakistan since the 2009 Lahore attack, but it was not until 2021 that he became their regular captain. Under him, Sri Lanka won 23 out of 41 ODIs and 22 out of 48 T20Is. The highlight of his tenure was the 2022 T20 Asia Cup victory in the UAE where Sri Lanka beat Pakistan in the final.

Also notable were ODI series wins against South Africa and Australia, and a T20I series win against India at home, all at home. Shanaka also oversaw Sri Lanka’s unbeaten run through the 2023 World Cup Qualifier. But all these achievements were interspersed with poor showings in the 2021 and 2022 T20 World Cups as well as the 2023 ODI World Cup.

However, it was his poor form with the bat, primarily in ODIs, that put him under the most scrutiny and made people question his place in the side. As such, it was widely expected that the new selection committee would look elsewhere in terms of the captaincy.

His replacements, Mendis and Hasaranga, both have recent experience in leadership roles. Mendis is a former Under-19 captain and the current skipper of Dambulla Aura in the LPL. Midway through the 2023 ODI World Cup, he took over the reins from Shanaka when the latter got injured. Hasaranga, who is currently recovering from a hamstring surgery, had earlier this year led B-Love Kandy to their inaugural LPL title.

Shanaka may still play a role in Sri Lanka’s white-ball set-ups after he was named in the preliminary squads for the limited-overs series against Zimbabwe at home in January.

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The SQUADS for the Zimbabwean tour of Sri Lanka in Early 2024 … from https://www.thehindu.com/sport/cricket/sri-lanka-names-squad-for-zimbabwe-series-kusal-hasaranga-to-lead-odi-t20i-sides/article67689658.

Sri Lanka on Saturday, December 30, 2023, named the preliminary squads for the home series against Zimbabwe, with batter Kusal Mendis leading the ODI side and all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga leading the T20I side.

Batter Charith Asalanka has been appointed as the vice-captain across both formats. “Sri Lanka Cricket announced the preliminary squads for the Zimbabwe Tour of Sri Lanka 2024.

ODIs squad:

“Sri Lanka Cricket wishes to announce the following preliminary squads selected by the Sri Lanka Cricket Selection Committee, focusing on the Zimbabwe Tour of Sri Lanka. The final squads for both the ODI and T20I squads will be selected out of the below-given preliminary squads,” said a statement from Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC).

The three-match ODI series will be from January 6-11, while the three-match T20I series is scheduled from January 14-18.

PRELIMINARY ODI SQUAD:

Kusal Mendis (c), Charith Asalanka (vc), Pathum Nissanka, Avishka Fernando, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Sahan Arachchige, Nuwanidu Fernando, Dasun Shanaka, Kamindu Mendis, Chamika Karunaratne, Janith Liyanage, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Dilshan Madushanka, Dushmantha Chameera, Dunith Wellalage, Pramod Madushan, Asitha Fernando, Akila Dananjaya, Jeffrey Vandersay, Chamika Gunasekera.

PRELIMINARY T20I SQUAD:

Wanindu Hasaranga (c), Charith Asalanka (vc), Pathum Nissanaka, Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Dasun Shanaka, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva, Maheesh Theekshana, Kusal Janith Perera, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Kamindu Mendis, Dunith Wellalage, Akila Dananjaya, Jeffrey Vandersay, Chamika Karunaratne, Dushmantha Chameera, Dilshan Madushanka, Binura Fernando, Nuwan Thushara, Pramod Madushan, Matheesha Pathirana.

FIXTURES:

1st ODI: January 6, 2024, R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

2nd ODI: January 8, 2024, R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

3rd ODI: January 11, 2024, R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

1st T20I:January 14, 2024, R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

2nd T20I:January 16, 2024, R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

3rd T20I: January 18, 2024, R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo.

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THUPPAHI THOUGHTS to provoke Reader Commentary

A: Dhananjaya omitted from ODI squad?

B: Akila Dananjaya and Jeffrey Vandersay given opportunities to come back at the ODI level?

C: Richmond College and Southern Province ALOHA! …. Hodi heleyi heliyyaaa! haalmasso heleyiaaah!

eLanka

Two New Cricket Captains for Sri Lanka-by Michael Roberts