Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has decided to take a squad of 22 players for the upcoming two-Test match tour of South Africa which is set to commence on the 26th December in Centurion.
The extended touring party for the tour will commence training on the 13th of November at the Pallekelle International Cricket Stadium in a ‘Bio-Secure’ environment until the 22th of November. As soon as the 10-day training camp is concluded, 18 players will travel directly to Hambanthota for the Lanka Premier League (LPL) – the franchise-based T20 competition.
Read – Sri Lanka tour South Africa; schedule announced
With the LPL running from 26th November to 16th December, the remaining four players, who are not part of the LPL, will train individually in Colombo. The Test squad, along with 10 officials, including a local doctor, is scheduled to leave the island for South Africa on the 17th of December, a day after the LPL final.
The team led by skipper Dimuth Karunaratne will only need to pass one Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test before taking the chartered flight to South Africa and will not undergo any mandatory quarantine period in the rainbow nation.
Sri Lanka will have one three-day practice match against a South African Invitational XI from 20th to 22nd December in Benoni. The Test series played as part of the ICC World Test Championship will run until the 7th of January 2021.
Read Also – England tour to Sri Lanka in doubt over strict quarantine rules
With England’s two-Test tour of Sri Lanka scheduled for January, the islanders will have to undergo a seven-day quarantine period in Galle after arriving home from South Africa.
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) have reportedly proposed to play both Tests against the Englishmen at the Galle International Cricket Stadium. England Cricket Board (ECB) are yet to give their final confirmation on the rescheduled series that was postponed in March of 2020 due to the global pandemic.
The Proteas’ series will be Sri Lanka’s first international assignment in the COVID-19 era as the island nation last played international cricket in March against the Windies.
Despite plenty of tours being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mickey Arthur-led coaching staff have continuously conducted residential camps and training sessions for the national squad. Most recently in August, a 23-member pool started training with the anticipation of the Bangladesh tour which was later postponed due to the strict government rules on the quarantine period.
With most of the regulars set to tour South Africa once again, uncapped batting all-rounder Santhush Gunathilaka and rookie left-arm seamer Dilshan Madushanka will travel with the national team for the very first time. Former Peterite Captain, Gunathilake will provide depth in the fast-bowling stocks and has the ability to bat anywhere in the middle-order.
20-year-old Madushanka, who has only played three first-class matches, impressed throughout his journey with the Sri Lanka U19s, taking 27 wickets in 16 Youth ODIs at an average of 23.37.
Photos – Sri Lanka v South Africa 2019
Three promising youngsters, leg-spinning all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga, wicket-keeper batsman Minod Bhanuka and right-arm quick Asitha Fernando, who have represented Sri Lanka in the shorter formats of game have been named in the extended red-ball squad. However, unfortunately there is no place for opening batsman Lahiru Udara – the highest run-scorer and Duvindu Tillakaratne – the highest wicket-taker at the SLC Major League ‘Tier A’ Tournament which concluded in August. The squad is made up of 9 batsmen, 3 all-rounders, 3 spinners and 7 seamers.
The term of the national selectors led by Asantha De Mel ended a few months ago. The Ministry of Sports are yet to ratify the new selection committee, proposed by SLC. Once it’s approved, De Mel and co, who are set to be re-appointed (with minor changes), will seek approval from the relevant authorities for this squad.
“I didn’t do any official selection as there are no official selectors. When Mickey [Arthur] ran the names with me, I said it was okay. He explained the strategy to me and based on the strategy the names that he gave me were good. The coach is doing some training program having collected some players. Other than that, officially we can’t select the team at the moment. It’s not official but the thinking is these are the sort of players we need,” – Asantha De Mel, speaking in his capacity as Team Manager told Daily FT recently.
Sri Lanka is currently in 6th position of the ICC World Test Championship having collected 80 points from 4 matches/2 series, while South Africa is languishing in 8th place with only 24 points in 7 matches/2 series.
Sri Lanka Squad for South Africa Tests – Dimuth Karunaratne (Captain), Oshada Fernando, Lahiru Thirimanne, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Kusal Janith Perera, Niroshan Dickwella, Dhananjaya De Silva, Dasun Shanaka, Minod Bhanuka, Santhush Gunathilaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dilruwan Perera, Lasith Embuldeniya, Suranga Lakmal, Lahiru Kumara, Vishwa Fernando, Kasun Rajitha, Asitha Fernando, Dushmantha Chameera, Dilshan Madushanka
Tour Schedule
- Practice Match vs South Africa XI – 20th to 22nd December – Benoni
- 1st Test Match vs South Africa – 26th to 30th December – Centurion
- 2nd Test Match vs South Africa – 03rd to 07th January – Johannesburg
 has decided to take 22 players for the upcoming two-Test match tour of South Africa which is set to commence on the 26th December in Centurion.){kind=link}