Dickwella, Gunathilaka, Sandakan miss the cut for Bangladesh ODIs
Niroshan Dickwella, Danushka Gunathilaka, Lakshan Sandakan, Lahiru Madushanka and Amila Aponso have missed the cut, as Sri Lanka announced their finalised squad for the upcoming three-match ODI series against Bangladesh which starts on July 26.
As such there will be five changes to the squad that travelled to England for the World Cup, with Shehan Jayasuriya, Wanindu Hasaranga, Akila Dananjaya and Lahiru Kumara all coming in. Dasun Shanaka, meanwhile, is set to play from the second ODI onwards as a replacement for the retiring Lasith Malinga.
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Of the newcomers, Jayasuriya, Kumara and Hasaranga all stand a good chance of being included in the side for the first ODI. Jayasuriya, who is also a part-time offspinner, impressed in the warm-up game with a gritty fifty, legspin-bowling-allrounder Hasaranga had a wicket to go with an impressive 28-run cameo, and pacer Lahiru Kumara was the pick of the Sri Lankan bowlers in largely unhelpful bowling conditions.
Dananjaya, being the only specialist spinner in the squad, will almost certainly feature.
Among those who missed out, Dickwella, who was out for three-ball duck in the warm-up, and Gunathilaka, who squandered an impressive start, will rue a missed opportunity to get back into the first-team fold. Slow left-armer Aponso meanwhile had gone wicketless in the warm up game.
Both Sandakan and Madushanka, though, can count themselves a touch more unfortunate. Despite being named in the original 22-man squad, Sandakan wasn't even named in warm-up side, while Madushanka, who has impressed with the emerging team and was name-checked by captain Dimuth Karunaratne earlier this week, was available to play but featured neither as a bowler nor batsman.
Sri Lanka's finalised squad for Bangladesh ODIs: Dimuth Karunaratne (capt), Kusal Perera, Avishka Fernando, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Lahiru Thirimanne, Shehan Jayasuriya, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Akila Dananjaya, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Pradeep, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara, Thisara Perera, Isuru Udana.