The National Selectors explained the reasons of omitting several senior players from the upcoming Bangladesh tour during one-on-one meetings held at SLC Headquarters on Thursday.
As per reliable sources, leading national cricketers – Dimuth Karunaratne, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep have been axed from the touring party to give more opportunities for the young players by the new selectors led by former Sri Lanka fast-bowler, Pramodya Wickramasinghe.
Read : Sri Lanka’s new ODI strategy: KJP to captain; seniors dropped
Even though Karunaratne wasn’t a part of the discussions on Thursday, it is understood that he had a meeting with the management during the Bangladesh series.
Thisara Perera, who retired earlier this week, was also supposed to be dropped for the upcoming ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League series against Bangladesh, which starts on the 23rd of May.
Wicket-keeper batsman Kusal Perera is expected to lead Sri Lanka against Bangladesh, replacing Dimuth Karunaratne, who led Sri Lanka in ODI cricket since the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.
Apart of the above players, Test specialists such as Dilruwan Perera and Roshen Silva were also summoned by the National Selectors to discuss their future in the longest format of the game.
Read More : Fixtures announced for Sri Lanka tour of Bangladesh
Even though the players (who are playing one-day cricket) have been told that they will not be considered for this series only, there is a growing concern amongst the senior cricketers that they will not be considered ever again for limited-overs cricket.
With blooding new players should be the way forward, is it wise to completely remove the experienced campaigners, especially against a strong Bangladesh ODI team at their own backyard? Only the time will tell.
