Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) finally announced the senior men’s squad for the upcoming first Test against India, beginning Saturday, August 15, in Galle. The hosts have received two body blows before the start of the series, as both experienced batters, Kusal Mendis and Pathum Nissanka, have been ruled out of the opening Test of the two-match series due to injuries. Dhananjaya de Silva will lead the side while Kamindu Mendis will serve as his deputy.
In the absence of Kusal Mendis, Sri Lanka have finally recalled 33-year-old experienced batter Niroshan Dickwella. This is the first time in three years that the left-handed batter has earned a national team call-up. Dickwella had last featured for Sri Lanka in the format against New Zealand in 2023.
Ramesh Mendis and Prabath Jayasuriya are the frontline spin options alongside Keshara Nuwantha. The third one also played in the warm-up match against India recently, in which SLC XI lost by six wickets. In the practice game, he picked up three wickets, and also returned with a five-wicket haul in the game against India A in Galle last month.
There are a total of five pacers in Sri Lanka’s squad, including two left-arm quicks in the form of Vishwa Fernando and Dilshan Madushanka.
What about India’s squad?
Speaking of India, the visitors have been hampered by injuries with Jasprit Bumrah, Sai Sudharsan, Nitish Reddy and Harshit Rana all ruled out. Washington Sundar will also miss the first Test against Sri Lanka, and it’s unlikely that he will recover in time for the second Test.
The upcoming Tests against Sri Lanka are very important for India. The side must win seven of their remaining nine matches to have any chance of reaching Oval for the World Test Championship (WTC) final next year.
India began the Sri Lanka tour with a six-wicket win in the three-day warm-up game, where Devdutt Padikkal sealed his spot at No.3 with an unbeaten century in the first innings.
Sri Lanka squad for first Test: Dhananjaya de Silva (c), Kamindu Mendis (vc), Lahiru Udara, Nishan Madushka, Dinesh Chandimal, Pasindu Sooriyabandara, Sonal Dinusha, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Ramesh Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Keshara Nuwantha, Milan Rathnayake, Asitha Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Vishwa Fernando, and Dilshan Madushanka.
India squad: Shubman Gill (c), KL Rahul (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Manav Suthar, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Devdutt Padikkal, Saransh Jain, Auqib Nabi, Sarfaraz Khan.