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 ...

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India rout Sri Lanka once more sending an ominous warning to the rest in the World Cup. – BY TREVINE RODRIGO IN MELBOURNE.  (eLanka Sports editor). India sent tremors through the World Cup with another demolition of a completely out of tune Sri Lanka and duck season would best describe the Islanders pathetic run chase at Wankhede stadium. If there were doubts about the one sided Asia Cup final, India dispelled all of them as their bowlers ran riot to give them five more runs, 50 all out in the Asia Cup, and 55 all out here and a 302 run win. Chasing 357 Sri Lanka were never in with a chance as Mohamed Shami and Mohamed Siraj wreaked havoc on a clueless Sri Lanka batting line-up after Jasprit Bumrah prised out usually consistent Pathum Nissanka in his first ball.  This set the stage for what could be a record five ...

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Angelo Matthews added to Sri Lanka squad replacing Pathirana. – BY TREVINE RODRIGO IN MELBOURNE. (eLanka Sports editor) Sri Lanka’s desperation to be competitive in the World Cup has seen the dramatic inclusion of Angelo Matthews to the squad replacing injured paceman Matheesha Pathirana as a substitute.  The veteran,  who has a wonderful record in all formats for a considerable period,  was rushed in as a travelling substitute for injured Skipper Dasun Shanaka and Pathirana and any other players in the foreseeable future. If it was a like for like replacement, Dushmantha Chameera should have got the nod ahead of Matthews similar to Chamika Karunaratne replacing all-rounder Shanaka.  But the Sri Lanka think tank have made a calculated decision and preferred Matthews due to his allround capability and his invaluable experience. Whether the gamble pays off will reveal itself as their campaign progresses. But the swansong for Matthews, if it ...

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Angelo Matthews and Dushmantha Chameera rushed in as injury replacements as Sri Lanka reassess lack of experience – BY TREVINE RODRIGO IN MELBOURNE (eLanka Sports editor) Sri Lanka Cricket have awoken to the possibility of its worst World Cup campaign and have desperately rushed in Angelo Matthews and Dushmantha Chameera as replacements if there is injury,  more to save face as the cellar looms large in this edition.  Lack of experience and hamstrung in the bowling department, Sri Lanka have copped a shallacking by opposition batters while their bowlers have been treated with disdain by the three teams they have played against so far. Matthews has a clever cricketing brain and Chameera is the number one choice in their bowling,  the latter suffering from injury that ruled him out of this World Cup.  While Sri Lanka sits at the bottom of the league stage, below Afghanistan and the Netherlands, their ...

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Sri Lanka leave out Wanindu Hasaranga from World Cup squad Source:Dailymirror Despite earlier indications that all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga could be part of Sri Lanka’s Cricket World Cup squad, the ace-spinner was not included in the 15-member contingent that leaves for India today.  The spinner is still recovering from a grade 3 hamstring tear and is expected to be fully fit towards the latter stages of the tournament, with multiple reports suggesting that selectors could be compelled to still include him in the squad with the expectation of him featuring at the back end of the World Cup.  However, SLC confirmed that the player had not been included, with leg-spinner Dushan Hemantha, who was earlier set to travel as a reserve, taking his place.  Hasaranga can however be added to the squad in the event that any of the 15 players who have been named sustain an injury during the course ...

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No swansong for Matthews as Sri Lanka opt for youth at World Cup – BY TREVINE RODRIGO IN MELBOURNE. (eLanka Sports editor) Sri Lanka Cricket have done away with emotional sentiment and ruled out a swansong for former Skipper Angelo Matthews and perhaps Dinesh Chandimal, opting for youth, at the upcoming World Cup in India.  It was rumoured earlier that Matthews was a consideration for his experience and 40 plus percent batting average. He doubles up as a handy all-rounder with the ball.  Matthews is expected to bring the curtain down on a memorable career which has given Sri Lanka’s fans and Cricket fans around the world many reasons to cheer when he was on top of his game.  Sri Lanka have also ruled out strike weapons Dushmantha Chameera and Wanindu Hasarsnga De Silva who have not shown improvement to their injuries.  It opens the door for youngsters Dinuth Wellelage and ...

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Hasaranga ruled out of World Cup – By  Rex Clementine Wanindu Hasaranga has been ruled out of the ICC Cricket World Cup. Source : island Sri Lanka suffered a major blow before leaving for the ICC Cricket World Cup in India later this week when star leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga was ruled out of the tournament with a hamstring injury. The 26-year-old was sidelined from the Asia Cup after suffering a hamstring injury during the Lanka Premier League but was expected to be fit for the World Cup. However, he aggravated the injury during rehabilitation and now medical experts will determine whether the former Richmond College cricketer needs surgery. Hasaranga has a grade III hamstring tear.Hasaranga had been named in the World Cup squad but now he’s most likely to be replaced by Dushan Hemantha, the leg-spinning all-rounder. There was no place for fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera either in the World Cup ...

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Asia Cup defeat is just a wake up call, says Silverwood – By Dhammika Ratnaweera Source : dailynews Losing Asia Cup final is just a wake-up call before the world cup where we have to compete against teams like India, Australia, and New Zealand – against whom- we have to be on top of our game said Sri Lanka cricket head coach Chris Silverwood. we played some very good cricket to get to the Asia cup cricket final. We had to fight very hard. For me it was an achievement.”said Sri Lanka cricket head coach Chris Silverwood after the final which India won by ten wickets to clinch their eighth title . Clearly it was a bad day. Clearly we came up against a very high class bowling unit. It was a shame to finish the way we did. It’s one of those things we can’t dwell on too much because ...

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13 SL cricketers picked for ILT20 league – by Sunil Thenabadu Source : info-rain Eight more Sri Lankan cricketers have been signed for the UAE’s International League T20 (ILT20), ahead of the second edition which is set to begin on 13th January 2024. Sri Lanka’s Dasun Shanaka, Nuwan Thushara, and Sadheera Samarawickrama have been signed by Dubai Capitals. Kusal Perera and Vijayakanth Viyaskanth have been signed by MI Emirates. Sri Lankan cricketers Dilshan Madushanka, Kusal Mendis, and Maheesh Theekshana have been signed by Sharjah Warriors. Earlier, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dinesh Chandimal and Matheesha Pathirana had been retained by Desert Vipers. Charith Asalanka was retained by Abu Dhabi Knight Riders, while Dushmantha Chameera was pre-signed by Dubai Capitals. All together, 13 Sri Lankan cricketers are set to feature in the UAE’s ILT20 which will kick off in January next year. (NewsWire) ...

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Pumped up Sri Lanka burst Dutch bubble. Shanaka’s men annihilate Netherlands in emphatic fashion in qualifying final. – BY TREVINE RODRIGO IN MELBOURNE Dasun Shanaka and Sri Lanka basked in the glory of a complete whitewash of the qualifiers with a comprehensive thrashing of the Netherlands in the final at Harare.  The Sri Lankans showed remarkable fight when their backs were against the wall as the went on to remain unbeaten and throwing out a warning that they are up for the fight against the best.   Maheesh Theeksheena and Dilshan Madushanka ensured that Sri Lanka’s modest total of 233 all out in 47.5 overs was defendable, when they routed the Dutch for 105 in only 23.3 overs making the decider a cakewalk.  Theeksheena followed his four wicket haul against Zimbabwe with another similar effort and Madushanka grabbed another three and with Wanindu Hasarsnga De Silva two more to his remarkable ...

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