Two New Cricket Captains for Sri Lanka-by Michael Roberts Source:Thuppahis 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 ...

Read More →

SRI LANKA CRICKET NEWS (OCTOBER 2021) Compiled by Victor Melder Minod Bhanuka, Ramesh Mendis, Pathum Nissanka, Lakshan Sandakan and Ashen Bandara have been added to Sri Lanka’s original squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup – announced mid-September. Lahiru Madhushanka, who was named in the original squad will not travel with the team as he is recovering from an injury. Reserve-keeper Minod Bhanuka and the two batsmen – Ramesh Mendis and Pathum Nissanka – were part of Sri Lanka’s recent home series defeat to South Africa in August. They came away with underwhelming performances and were omitted from the initial squad. Ashen Bandara last played a month before at home in the series win against India, while Lakshan Sandakan’s previous outing for the national side came in July in England. Neither made a big enough mark to be considered initially, but Sri Lanka have now added to their squad, which ...

Read More →

Sri Lanka players sign national contracts till end of 2021 Sri Lanka players had previously refused to sign national contracts, citing ‘lack of transparency’ Source:Island Angelo Mathews isn’t among the 18 cricketers who signed the men’s national contracts, the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has announced. It further said that the contract offered this time had no “deviation” from the earlier contract which was rejected by the players alleging lack of transparency. SLC had revealed a five-point grading system back in May, bringing down the number of contracts from 32 to only 24. As differences continued over the nature of the contracts offered, the players signed “tour contracts” for their series against England and India as a makeshift arrangement. ...

Read More →

Sri Lanka axes old guard and brings in new faces to ODI tour party-BY ALTHAF NAWAZ Shiran Fernando-Binura Fernando Source:Sundayobserver Sri Lankan cricket selectors have axed the old guard and brought in new faces to the ODI set-up along with some of the experienced campaigners with a firm message to all that there will not be room for anyone to go by names and past laurels while recalling batsman Kusal Mendis who had been grappling with disciplinary issues and form. The new-look squad’s first assignment will be a three-match series against Bangladesh on May 23, 25 and 28 away. ...

Read More →