Sri Lanka have sprung a shock by dropping Dinesh Chandimal for the South Africa Tests. Opener Dimuth Karunaratne has been delegated as the remain in captain for the two-coordinate Test arrangement.
While reporting the 17-man squad, the SLC uncovered that Chandimal has been approached to come back to Sri Lanka with the goal that he can play local cricket and recover his frame in front of things to come worldwide assignments. Previous captain Angelo Mathews keeps on being missing from the squad in the wake of harming his hamstring in New Zealand before the finish of 2018.
Chandimal had an awful time in Australia where Sri Lanka were battered in the two Tests. In four innings, Chandimal made just 24 runs while batting at No. 3 as his side totally surrendered to the Australian pace assault, crossing 200 only once in the whole arrangement. 32-year-old opener Kaushal Silva has come back to the squad in the wake of scoring two huge twofold hundreds of years in five star cricket.
Aside from this, the selectors have additionally rolled out five additional improvements to the squad. Roshen Silva, who played one Test each in New Zealand and Australia, has been forgotten with Sadeera Samarawickrama additionally getting the boot regardless of not highlighting in any of their four later abroad Test matches.
Pacers Dushmantha Chameera and Lahiru Kumara and senior spinner Dilruwan Perera have additionally been cut out with the selectors picking some new faces for the testing visit. Allrounder Milinda Siriwardana, batsmen Oshada Fernando and Angelo Perera, seamer Mohamed Shiraz and left-arm spinner Lasith Embuldeniya are the five substitutions. Out of these five, just Siriwardana has played Test cricket so far with his latest appearance in the organization coming in May 2016.
Sri Lanka will trust that any semblance of Fernando and Perera can capture their ongoing batting droop. Fernando hit two fifties and three centuries, incorporating a twofold hundred in his last three top of the line amusements though Perera stood out as truly newsworthy subsequent to crushing two twofold hundreds of years in a solitary top of the line diversion.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Niroshan Dickwella has been named the bad habit commander. The principal Test will be played in Durban, beginning from February 13 with the second Test booked to be played in Port Elizabeth from February 21. The island country will likewise play five ODIs and three T20Is following the Tests.
Squad: Dimuth Karunaratne (C), Niroshan Dickwella, (VC), Lahiru Thirimanne, Kaushal Silva, Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera, Milinda Siriwardana, Dhananjaya De Silva, Oshada Fernando, Angelo Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Kasun Rajitha, Vishwa Fernando, Chamika Karunaratne, Mohamed Shiraz, Lakshan Sandakan, Lasith Embuldeniya