Sri Lanka Test captain Dhananjaya de Silva makes a welcome return to the 50-over format after a two-year respite, as the national selectors named a familiar 17-member squad for the first of three ODIs against England starting at RPICS, Colombo this afternoon.
The red-ball skipper had previously featured in the One-Day version in the ICC Men’s World Cup in India in late 2023, and since then had been overlooked before being recalled to the setup by the new panel headed by ex-pacer Pramodya Wickramasinghe.
The seasoned right-handed batter who has won 90 ODI caps, has returned to the fold to shore up the middle-order at the expense of out-of-form left-hander Kusal Janith Perera, who could well be looking at the exit door, after failing to even make the T20 squad for the upcoming series against England.
Top-order batter Charith Asalanka has retained the captaincy of the squad after being relieved of it from the shortest format by the previous selection panel led by former opener Upul Tharanga during the white-ball tour to Pakistan late last year.
The batting will revolve around prolific opener Pathum Nissanka, young gun Kamil Mishara, Kusal Mendis, Asalanka, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Pavan Rathnayake and de Silva, with Kamindu Mendis and Janith Liyanage fitting into the equation as all-rounders.
The hosts pace bowling will be manned by Asitha Fernando, Pramod Madushan, Eshan Malinga and Milan Rathnayake, while the spin department will revolve around the quartet of Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage and Jeffrey Vandersay.
This is besides both the Lankan ODI and Test skippers also known to being crucial partnership breakers in this form of the game, as the home team target a critical series triumph to atone for their recent dip in form in the run up to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup early next month.
The home team will also be gunning for their first bilateral One-Day International series triumph against the tourists since a 5-2 series victory in 2014, while England who arrived on Lankan soil for the first time in eight years on Monday (19), last savoured a 3-1 series success in 2018.
The second and third ODIs are also to be played at the same venue on Saturday (24) and on Tuesday (27).
Squad
Charith Asalanka (capt.), Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Pavan Rathnayake, Dhananjaya de Silva, Janith Liyanage, Kamindu Mendis, Dunith Wellalage, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jeffrey Vandersay, Maheesh Theekshana, Milan Rathnayake, Asitha Fernando, Pramod Madushan and Eshan Malinga