SRI LANKA CRICKET NEWS
(JUNE 2026)
Compiled by Victor Melder
Sri Lanka Cricket (Sri Lanka Cricket) has announced the national player contracts for the 2026–2027 season, naming a pool of 46 players for the upcoming one-year cycle. The contracts will be effective from April 1, 2026, to March 31, 2027. According to SLC, the contracted players have been categorized into six groups — A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, and a Central Contract category — based on performance, consistency, fitness levels, long-term potential, and the strategic requirements of the national team across all formats. The cricket board said the structured contract system is aimed at providing players with financial stability, training support, and professional resources needed to maintain high-performance standards at the international level, while also strengthening the long-term development pathway of Sri Lankan cricket. The 46-member list includes several senior and established players such as Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dinesh Chandimal, Wanindu Hasaranga, Pathum Nissanka, and Charith Asalanka. Key bowling figures including Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana, Dilshan Madushanka, and Prabath Jayasuriya have also been retained, ensuring continuity in the national team’s core squad ahead of the new international season. A key feature of the 2026–2027 contract list is the inclusion of seven players receiving their maiden national contracts. The new inductees are Kamil Mishara, Lasith Croospulle, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, Isitha Wijesundera, Wanuja Sahan, Dilum Sudeera, and Tharindu Rathnayake.(Daily Mirror, 2.6.2026)
The touring Sri Lankans beat the West Indies by 41 run to win the 1st ODI, played at Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica. Scores;
Sri Lanka – 303/7 in 50 Over (Nissanka 79, Kusal Mendis 72, Asalanka 45, Liyanagae 44, Forde 2/44, Chase 2/47, Seale 2/67)
West Indies – 262 in 49.2 Overs (Hope 56, Greaves 45, Chase 33, Chameera 4/67, Thhekshana 2/26)
Player of the Match: Kusal Mendis (Sri Lanka)
Sri Lanka’s National Men’s team will tour New Zealand during January and February 2027 for an all-format cricket series. The tour will comprise three One-Day Internationals (ODIs), three Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is), and two Test matches. (Newswire, 4.6.2026)
Sri Lanka has been fined 10 per cent of their match fee for maintaining a slow over-rate against the West Indies in the first ODI in Jamaica on 3 June. Richie Richardson of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees imposed the sanction after Kusal Mendis’ side was ruled to be two overs short of the target after time allowances were taken into consideration. In accordance with Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to minimum over-rate offences, players are fined five per cent of their match fees for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time. Mendis pleaded guilty to the offence and accepted the proposed sanction, so there was no need for a formal hearing.On-field umpires Leslie Reifer and Wayne Knights, third umpire Allahuddien Paleker and fourth umpire Christopher Taylor levelled the charge. (Daily Mirror, 7.6.2026)
The 2nd ODI between the touring Sri Lankans and the West indies, played at Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica, ended in no result, as rain washed out play, without a ball being bowled.
The 3rd and final ODI between the touring Sri Lankans ad the West Indies, played at Sabrina Park, Kingston, Jamaiaca, ended in no result, as rain washed out play, without a ball being bowled. Sri Lanka won the 3-match series 1-0.
The West Indies beat the touring Sri Lankans by 7 wickets in the first T20 played at Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamica. Scores:
Sri Lanka – 147/9 in 20 Overs (Kamindu Mendis 51, Kusal Mendis 36, Shanaka 22, Holder 3/18, Joseph 3/29)
Wes Indies – 149/3 in 19.2 Overs (Hope 65no, King 37, Hasaranga 2/32)
Player of the Match: Jason Holder (West Indies)
The touring Sri Lankans beat the West indies by 37 runs in the second T20 played at Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica. Scores:
Sri Lanka – 194/6 in 50 Overs (Mishara 61, Shanaka 58, Kusal Mendis 31, Joseph 3/32, Forde 2/32)
West Indies – 157 in 18.1 Overs (Powell43, Hetmeyer 36, Chameera 3/9, Hasaranga 3/33)
Player of the Match: Dasun Shanaka (Sri Lanka)
The West Indies beat the touring Sri Lankans by 5 wickets in the third and final T20 played at Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamica. Scores:
Sri Lanka – 169 in 230 Overs (Wellalage 43, Mishara, 28, Joseph 5/23)
West Indies – 170/5 in 19.4 Overs (Rutherford 54no, Powell, 33, Hetmeyer32, Hasaranga 2/17, Wellalage 1/23)
The West Indies won the 3-match series 2-1.
Player of the Match: Shamar Joseph (West Indies)
Player of the Series : Shamar Joseph (West Indies)
ICC Chairman Jay Shah met President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in Colombo today as discussions continue on the future governance and administration of Sri Lanka Cricket. Sources said Shah held talks with the President and is also expected to meet other key stakeholders during his visit. The discussions are understood to focus on the current interim administrative arrangement at Sri Lanka Cricket and the way forward for the governance of the sport in the country. Shah’s visit comes amid ongoing engagement between Sri Lankan authorities and international cricket officials regarding the administration of cricket and ensuring compliance with international governance standards. Neither the ICC nor Sri Lankan authorities had officially commented on the discussions at the time of publication. (Newswire, 19.6.2026)
The Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) Transformation Committee has decided that no international cricket stadium will be constructed in Jaffna. “We don’t have the funds at this point in time to invest in an international cricket stadium, even in Jaffna or in any part of the world. Our review of the originally reviewed project is beyond the scope of SLC. We don’t have the current financial strength to complete it,” said Transformation Committee Secretary Prakash Schaffter. “We are committed to having a cricket ground in Jaffna but we are reviewing the extent to which we want to invest in the project in the light of our current funding capacities. The project at the moment is underway. We have to review the final scope of the project we want to have as opposed to the original project of an international stadium, a sports city, a housing project etc., which we feel we cannot consider at this stage purely because of the magnitude and the reality of the available funding that we have at SLC,” he added. (Daily Mirror, 27.6.2026)
The West Indies Select XI beat the touring Sri Lanka by 5 runs in the four-day match plated t Coolidge, West Indies. Scores:
West Indies, 1st Innings – 205 (McKenzie 58, Paul 36, Wickham 20, Kumara 4/39, Asitha Fernando 2/21)
Sri Lanka, 1st Innings – 281 (Chandimal 74, Madushka 46, Rathnayake 41, Dinusha 36, de Silva 34, Smith 4/50, Paul 3/67, Joseph 2/45)
West Indies, 2nd Innings – 199 (Biushop 68, Auguste 46, Paul 29, Savory 27, Asitha Fernando 3/27, Dinusha 3/42, Jayasuriya 3/70)
Sri Lanka, 2nd Innings – 108 (Madushka 30, Smith 5/30, Joseph 4/41)
The West Indies beat the touring Sri Lanka by an Innings and 217 runs, in the First Test, played at the Sir ivian Rixhards Stadium, North Sound. Scores:
Sri Lanka, 1st Innings – 308 (de Silva 120, Chandimal 54, Dinusha 43, Rathnayake 27, Greaves 3/39, Roach 2/32, A. Joseph 2/60, S. Joseph 2/79)
West Indies, 1st Innings – 926/9 dec (Jangoo 233, Chase 194, Campbell 39, Rathnayake 5/124, A. Fernando 2/56, Dinusha 2/234)
Sri Lanka, 2nd Innings – 101 (Chandimal 43, Roach 4/51, Seales 3/14, S. Jospeh 2/19)
Player of the Match: Amir Jangoo (West Indies)
