Batting all-rounder Charith Asalanka has been named the captain of the Sri Lanka T20I team for the upcoming three-match series against India.
Asalanka, who is an explosive middle-order batter who can roll his arm over for a couple of overs here and there, has been a crucial piece of the puzzle for the Lankan Lions in T20Is.
Charith Asalanka To Captain Sri Lanka Vs India
Charith, who has formerly captained Sri Lanka in several limited-overs series, will once again captain his team against a strong Indian side, a team that is coming off winning the 2024 T20 World Cup in the USA and the West Indies less than a month ago.
In the T20 World Cup, Wanindu Hasaranga captained the team. In that tournament, Sri Lanka was in Group D alongside Bangladesh, Nepal, the Netherlands, and eventual runner-up South Africa. After finishing third in the group, they were eliminated in the first round of the competition itself.
The surprising part of all this is that Wanindu Hasaranga, who might be the most globally recognized Sri Lankan cricketer today, is still part of the squad but will not be captaining. In the T20I series against Bangladesh played earlier this year, Asalanka was the captain of the team, but that team did not have Hasaranga in their ranks.
That is not the only change in the Sri Lanka squad, as all-rounder Chamindu Wickramasinghe, who is coming off an impressive campaign in the Lanka Premier League (LPL) 2024, will also be a part of the team.
Another addition to the side is Dinesh Chandimal. The former national team captain has not played a T20I in two years and will also be a part of the squad.
Chris Silverwood, who was the head coach of the Sri Lanka National Team for the T20 World Cup, has stepped down from his position, and legendary batter Sananth Jayasuriya has taken up the post in an interim role.
Here are the squads for both teams for the three-match India vs Sri Lanka series, the first match of which will be played on July 27 at 7:00 PM in the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy.
Sri Lanka squad: Charith Asalanka (C), Kusal Perera (wk), Pathum Nissanka, Avishka Fernando, Kusal Mendis (wk), Chamindu Wickramasinghe, Dinesh Chandimal, Kamindu Mendis, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana, Nuwan Thushara, Dushmantha Chameera, Binura Fernando
India squad: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Rinku Singh, Riyan Parag, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed
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