Sri Lanka have announced their squad for the Test series against New Zealand on September 18. In a major development, Oshada Fernando has been recalled to the Test squad after 18 months.
Osha Fernando replaced Nishan Madushka in the squad, who had a poor Test series against England and was subsequently dropped from the third Test of the series. Pathum Nissanka opened in his place and smashed a match-winning hundred in the second innings.
Osha Fernando last played a test match against New Zealand in March 2023 but was dropped after poor form. In 21 matches Osha Fernando scored 1091 runs and 1 hundred and 7 fifties at an average of 33.06.
Also read: IND vs BAN: Aakash Chopra sees quality like MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli in ‘Future Superstar’ Shubman Gill
Osha Fernando returns as Sri Lanka announce their 16-man squad for the Test series against New Zealand
Apart from Nishan Madushka, Kasun Rajitha and Nisala Tharaka are the two players missing from the squad touring England for the three-match Test series. Dhananjaya de Silva is the captain of the team with several veteran players like Angelo Mathews, Dimuth Karunaratne and Dinesh Chandimal in the squad.
Meanwhile, Milan Rathnayake retains his place in the squad after his impressive performance in England. The fast bowling department consists of Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Kumara and Milan Rathnayake, although only two of them are likely to play given the conditions.
Balanced squad for Sri Lanka
As expected, Sri Lanka packed their squad with a lot of spinners. From left, spinner Prabath Jayasuriya will lead the spinner bowling department along with offspinner Ramesh Mendis and legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay. Skipper Dhananjaya de Silva and Kamindu Mendis can also bowl some good spin shots.
Sri Lanka will have high hopes from Pathum Nissanka, who scored a sensational ton in the third Test match against England at The Oval. Scoring 219 to win, Sri Lanka comprehensively completed the target with 8 wickets in hand. As a result, the visitors avoided a clean sweep and the series ended 2-1 in favor of England.
Nissanka smashed 127 off just 124 balls and remained unbeaten till the end. With this knock, he cemented his position as the Sri Lankan team’s opener in all formats. Both the Tests of this series will be played in Galle.
Meanwhile, New Zealand’s preparations for the series took a major hit as their one-off Test against Afghanistan in Greater Noida was postponed due to excessive rain. After the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka, New Zealand will travel to India for a three-match Test series.
Sri Lanka squad for Tests against New Zealand
Dhananjaya De Silva (C), Dimuth Karunaratne, Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (wk), Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Kamindu Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama (wk), Oshada Fernando, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Lahirubath Jayasuriya, Ramesh Mendis, Jeffrey Vandersay, Milan Rathnayake
