- Ten players leave early for prep
Slow left-arm orthodox bowler Lasith Embuldeniya who last represented Sri Lanka in a Test against Australia at Galle 24-months ago, was recalled to the red-ball squad by the selectors ahead of their two-Test series against South Africa, yesterday (12).
The two-Test series which is part of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) cycle for 2023-25, is set to start on 27 November at Durban, to be followed by the second and final Test on 5 December at Gqeberha formerly Port Elizabeth.
Embuldeniya, who in fact made his Test debut against the Proteas in Durban five years ago, where Sri Lanka posted a memorable one-wicket victory, has since been upstaged by ace left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya, with the former losing his spot in the squad to the latter.
He has so far won 17 Test caps for his country having captured 71 wickets for an average of 36.77 and the selectors have opted to rely on his wiles to outsmart their hosts, due to Jayasuriya’s lack of success overseas, in comparison to his stunning form at home.
The ex-Royal cricketer was among 10 players who left the county at dawn yesterday (12), to acclimatise ahead of the series in South Africa.
Red-ball skipper Dhananjaya de Silva, former Captains Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, and Dimuth Karunaratne, pacers Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara, fast bowling all-rounder Milan Rathnayake, and spin twins Prabath Jayasuriya, and Nishan Peiris, are the rest who had left for Durban, according to SLC sources.
The rest of the team and players including Head Coach Sanath Jayasuriya and his Deputy Thilina Kandambi and Spin Coach Piyal Wijethunga, are slated to take wing to South Africa on 22 November, after the three-match ODI series against New Zealand concludes on 19 November.
Sri Lanka’s sole Test series triumph in the Rainbow Nation was recorded in the 2018-19 season when they swept a two-Test series 2-0 under Dimuth Karunaratne, while the Proteas atoned for it by whitewashing the tourists in the last series played between the two sides there in 2020-21.
(JK)