Sri Lanka announce T20I squad for upcoming tour of India

In a huge loss for Sri Lanka, the island nation will be without their star performer, Avishka Fernando for the tour of India. A shining name in the Sri Lankan cricketing echelons, Avishka Fernando copped a knee injury that knocked him out of the upcoming series.

Much to their woes, Nuwan Thushara and Ramesh Mendis will be missing out on the series due to a side strain and a fractured thumb respectively. Bhanuka Rajapaksha, the middle-order batter who grabbed quite a few eyeballs due to his retirement from the game early, didn’t make the cut for the Indian tour due to fitness issues.

Avishka’s recent exploits, however, won’t really make Sri Lanka miss him because he could only garner 331 runs at an average of 12.25 in T20Is. Ramesh Mendis and Nuwan Thushara’s impact on the series was also limited.

Off-spinner Ashian Daniel bagged a callup in the national side but his inclusion in the main squad is subject to “ministerial approval”. However, he has very minimal cricketing experience as he was a part of the Lankan reserves for the ODI series against Zimbabwe that was hosted in January.

The touring Lankan outfit will be led by Dasun Shanaka while Charith Asalanka will be the vice-captain of the side. The three-game T20I series will be played at  Lucknow and Dharamsala with the latter hosting the final two games of the series.

Sri Lanka squad for T20I: Dasun Shanaka (c), Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Charith Asalanka, Dinesh Chandimal, Danushka Gunathilaka, Kamil Mishara, Janith Liyanage, Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Dushmantha Chameera, Lahiru Kumara, Binura Fernando, Shiran Fernando, Maheesh Theekshana, Jeffrey Vandersay, Praveen Jayawickrama, Ashian Daniel - Subject to Ministerial approval