21-year-old Harshitha Samarawickrama was retained as vice captain of the Sri Lankan national team to deputize Chamari Atapattu as part of the 15-member squad that will fly to Australia for the Women’s T20 World Cup.
Read More : U19 Women’s T20 World Cup approved by ICC
The tournament is scheduled to be held from the 15th of February to the 8th of March with the participation of 10 teams, divided into 2 groups in the 1st round. Sri Lanka have been slotted in alongside India and Australia, two of the top contenders to the title, as well as New Zealand and Bangladesh while West Indies, Pakistan, South Africa, England and debutants Thailand will compete on the other side of the draw.
Sri Lanka have opted for a squad full of fresh faces, rewarding the young women who performed well at the Women’s Emerging Asia Cup as well as the South Asian Championships, where the team won Silver.
All-rounder Sathya Sandeepani, who had an excellent outing at the South Asian Games in Nepal has been rewarded with a maiden call-up to the senior team, while teenagers Umesha Thimashini and Kavisha Dilhari will also be traveling to Australia for their 1st World Cup.
Read More : Bangladesh and Thailand qualify for ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in Australia
Sri Lanka will also be bolstered by the presence of Captain Chamari Atapattu, whose last appearance in Australia was an extremely fruitful one, where she bagged 2 centuries (1 ODI & 1 T20I) to her name against the defending T20 champions Australia.
Shashikala Siriwardene, Hansima Karunaratne and Nilakshi de Silva are a few other players to keep an eye out for as key to Sri Lanka’s campaign under head coach Harsha de Silva.
Squad
Chamari Atapattu – Captain, Harshitha Madavi – Vice Captain, Anushka Sanjeewani, Hansima Karunaratne, Shashikala Siriwardene, Nilakshi De Silva, Ama Kanchana, Kavisha Dilhari, Udeshika Probodhani, Achini Kulasuriya, Hasini Perera, Sathya Sandeepani, Umesha Thimashini, Sugandika Kumari, Dilani Manodara
Sachini Nisansala, Prasadani Weerakkody, Oshadi Ranasinghe, Tharika Sewwandi and Inoka Ranaweera have been named as standby players.
Sri Lanka’s Fixtures
- 22nd February – Sri Lanka vs New Zealand – WACA, Perth
- 24th February – Sri Lanka vs Australia – WACA Perth
- 29th February – Sri Lanka vs India – Junction Oval, Melbourne
- 2nd March – Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh – Junction Oval, Melbourne
