Last evening Sri Lanka Cricket named a 17-man squad to take on the English in a 3 match Test series beginning on the 19th of May. In this segment, let’s look at what could potentially be the thinking behind some of the selections.
Thirimanne, Dhananjaya and Dasun named in the Sri Lanka Test squad
A couple of rookies, Dasun Shanaka and Dhananjaya De Silva, will be making their entrance into test cricket for the 1st time during the tour. While Lahiru Thirimanne, who wasn’t in the initial 20 man squad, Niroshan Dickwella and Kaushal Silva are making a comeback into the team.
Dhananjaya De Silva, who 1st made his entrance onto the international scene during Pakistan’s tour of Sri Lanka last year, has had a stellar 1st class season for Tamil Union, making 868 runs at an average of 54.25 and has earned his spot in the team. During the past season he has also been quite good with the ball, picking up 16 wickets in his last 4 1st class games with his off spin. However, he may find it tough to get into the final XI based on the fact that he is a top order batsman. At 24 years of age, De Silva is perhaps being earmarked by the selectors as a long term prospect for the test line-up and therefore the experience he will gain during this tour will be invaluable.
Dasun Shanaka, the other “newbie” in the squad, is perhaps the more surprising selection, having been more of a T20 superstar in the domestic circuit. Truth be told he hasn’t even featured regularly in the SSC line-up for the Premier League tournament this season. At first it may seem that he will just be a passenger on tour however what he does have going for him is the fact that he bowls some useful medium pace. With Angelo Mathews unlikely to bowl due to injury, he may have an opportunity to fit in as the 4th seaming option and take up the all-rounder’s spot in the XI particularly as the conditions are likely to favour swing and seam. The selectors will be reluctant to drop Milinda Siriwardene however as he has shown some promise during the past few tours, particularly with the bat.
Next we come to Lahiru Thirimanne, who was not named in the preliminary 20 man pool as he was recovering from a hamstring injury he sustained during the WT20 last month and is perhaps the most debatable inclusion in the squad. He has been out of sorts with the bat and many fans are calling for his head, particularly as he is a player who has been given plenty of opportunities. On the flip side, it could be argued that his bad run of form has come in limited over fixtures as he has made two big hundreds in 1st class cricket earlier this year. His technique and temperament, not to mention his experience in similar conditions will be an asset to the team no doubt and with the backing of the selectors and skipper Angelo Mathews, I don’t see him missing out on the starting XI if he is fit. However this would mean that either Kaushal Silva or Kusal Mendis will have to make way with Thirimanne coming in at 3. According to the team management he is doubtful for the 1st test as he is still working on his fitness post injury.
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Kaushal Silva, who missed the tour of New Zealand after a bad run of form has managed to make a bold statement with the bat in the domestic circuit, making two consecutive double centuries in the Premier League tournament earlier this year. A blow to the head at a practice game threatened to rule him out of a chance to make a comeback but Silva has recovered and will most likely resume his partnership with Dimuth Karunaratne at the top of the order.
His inclusion comes at the expense of veteran Tharanga Paranavithane, the top run-getter in the Premier League tournament. Perhaps the fact that Paranavithane is a left hander (similar to Karunaratne) and at 35 years of age is nearing the end of his career made an impact in the selectors’ decision to pick Silva ahead of him.
Niroshan Dickwella last played a test for Sri Lanka back in 2014 but has featured regularly in the limited overs national squads over the past few months after a decent showing in the domestic scene. He missed out on the World T20 by a whisker but will be optimistic that he will get at least some games under his belt particularly as the team will look to push Dinesh Chandimal up the order and relieve him of his keeping duties. At 22 he is yet another long term prospect for the test set up, who will gain valuable experience during the tour.
Personally I was quite surprised that Jeffrey Vandersay was unable to find a place in the final squad, especially because Coach Graham Ford had identified him as a fantastic prospect who has a long Test career ahead of him, particularly once Rangana Herath hangs up his boots. The selectors have preferred Dilruwan Perera over him perhaps for a few reasons, the most prominent being that Perera turns the ball into the right-hander whereas both Herath and Vandersay would turn the ball away and in that aspect the inclusion of Perera brings some variation. It is unlikely that Sri Lanka will feature 2 specialist spinners in the final XI so it does not look like Perera will get a game unless Herath is injured.
Kusal Mendis has had a pretty mediocre start to his test career but to be fair 2 of his 3 tests were played in New Zealand and in that sense a Test average of just above 30 is quite respectable. It would seem likely that he will make it to the starting XI if Thirimanne is unable to regain full fitness.
Shaminda Eranga is a much awaited addition to the team after a long injury lay-off and it was almost certain that he would make it to the team particularly after a good season with Tamil Union where they emerged champions of the Premier League tournament. Suranga Lakmal was his partner in crime during the successful season and has made the squad ahead of Kasun Rajitha and Vishwa Fernando. Lakmal’s experience and ability to swing the ball may have given him the advantage over the other two.
Of course there are a few shoe-ins for the test squad, namely Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Dimuth Karunaratne, Milinda Siriwardene, Rangana Herath, Dhammika Prasad, Dushmantha Chameera and Nuwan Pradeep whose inclusions come as no real surprise.
The squad departs for the shores of the United Kingdom on the 4th of May. They will play two practice games before the 1st Test at Headingley which will begin on the 19th of May.
