Sports
Tharanga justifies Wellalage selection
by Rex Clementine
Former captain Upul Tharanga was an admirable bloke when he was playing cricket and he is earning bigger accolades as Chairman of Selectors. Since assuming duties early this year, he has held a media briefing before every home series or tour explaining his decisions. Yesterday was no different as he met journalists at SLC headquarters to discuss the squad picked for the T-20 World Cup in the Caribbean and the United States.
Tharanga shed light into every selection that was made explaining some of the tough calls the selectors had to make. Tharanga’s committee has shown transparency, honesty and accountability. Had it been showcased by his predecessors, Sri Lanka wouldn’t have suffered the humiliation of missing out on a Champions Trophy slot.
The selection of Dunith Wellalage had surprised a few as the all-rounder is yet to make his debut in the shortest format of the game although he had been a regular in the ODI format. Tharanga explained why the 21-year-old was picked.
“When you take the conditions in United States and West Indies, we believe the wickets will be slow there. We played two spinners this year during our bilateral series. We believe that during the World Cup we might need an additional spinner. The left-arm spinner gives you the option of bowling during Power Plays. He also gives you the option of playing a spin bowing all-rounder instead of a seam bowling all-rounder.”
But should Wellalage have been featured in T-20s had he been in the selectors’ plans? “You can’t say that he wasn’t in our plans. But our combination didn’t allow us to play him. Dunith only gets a break when the front-line bowlers aren’t available and he has done justice from the opportunities he has got.”
Sri Lanka also have Dhananjaya de Silva in the 15-member squad and Tharanga said that the squad had enough fire power and the all-round spin bowling option was preferred over the others.
The national cricket team will leave for New York this evening (Tuesday). The team will have a two-week preparation camp in New York. Their campaign gets underway on the 3rd June against South Africa.
Sri Lanka are pooled in Group ‘D’ alongside the Proteas, Nepal, Netherlands and Bangladesh. Sri Lanka will be in US for a month and will play Dallas and Florida as well apart from New York. Their last group game is in St. Lucia in the Caribbean and if they qualify for the second round will move to Antigua.
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Scotland face West Indies with a chance to reopen World Cup wounds
Scotland take on West Indies in Leeds at 18:30 local time (17:30 GMT) in Group 2 of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026. Both teams won their opening matches in this competition – Shemaine Campbelle’s unbeaten 90 aided by New Zealand’s dropped catches saw West Indies emerging victorious, while a strong all round performance from Scotland brushed aside Ireland.
Scotland and West Indies have played each other only three times across formats – their lone T20I meeting coming at the last World Cup. Crucially, though, Scotland dealt West Indies perhaps their biggest blow in recent times with their win in the Women’s ODI World Cup Qualifier last year. Scotland staved off an all-round show from Hayley Matthews to eke out an 11-run win, denying West Indies a chance to qualify for the ODI World Cup last year.
Coming on the back of a comfortable win, expect Scotland to go in unchanged.
Scotland (probable XI): Darcey Carter, Katherine Fraser, Kathryn Bryce (capt), Sarah Bryce (wk), Ailsa Lister, Megan McColl, Priyanaz Chatterji, Rachel Slater, Chloe Abel, Kirstie Gordon, Gabriella Fontenla
West Indies head coach Shane Deitz had said that Chinelle Henry was close to playing their opening game. If fit, she can add heft to their lower-middle order as well as the bowling department.
West Indies (probable XI): Qiana Joseph, Hayley Matthews (capt), Shemaine Campbelle (wk), Deandra Dottin, Jahzara Claxton/Chinelle Henry, Jannillea Glasgow, Aaliyah Alleyne, Zaida James, Shawnisha Hector, Afy Fletcher, Karishma Ramharack
Players to watch:
Kathryn Bryce: The Scotland captain had a big role to play in their first win at this T20 World Cup. She scored a rapid half-century and picked up two wickets against Ireland. Bryce has picked up at least one wicket in 11 of the 12 T20Is she has played this year, apart from being consistent with the bat. Her experience of playing regularly in England’s domestic circuit could be key for Scotland against West Indies.
Deandra Dottin: She was at her brutal best in the last iteration of the T20 World Cup (strike rate 165.54, average 39.4, 12 sixes) but since the start of 2025, Dottin has only one T20I half-century at a strike rate of 122.84. Dottin had scored an unbeaten 15-ball 28 the last time she faced Scotland. Can she find her mojo back against them?
While Australia’s bowlers bulldozed Bangladesh, India’s batters made merry to show the batting-friendly nature of the surface in Leeds. Weather wise, the evening is likely to become cooler, with temperatures ranging from 19 to 22 degrees Celsius. There is no forecast of rain, even though it grew slightly overcast towards the start of Netherlands’ innings on Wednesday.
[Cricinfo]
Sports
Sooryavanshi to have parents with him on tour of Ireland and England
The BCCI has allowed Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s parents to accompany their son on his maiden India tour of Ireland and England in June and July to help the 15-year-old cope with any challenges that may arise. The board secretary Devajit Saikia said the BCCI would cover their expenses on the trip.
“You see, not all national teams at the senior level have a 14 or 15-year-old in their squad. After many decades, we have someone like Vaibhav Sooryavanshi,” Saikia told PTI. “At one point in time, it was Sachin Tendulkar who made it to the national team at such a young age. When such a young kid is part of the senior team, there are obviously a lot of issues that can crop up.
“Therefore, to make him comfortable and help him get used to an adult environment, where all the other players are above 18 years of age, and the team management members are also adults, we felt it would be helpful.
“We are doing this because we believe it will ease a lot of issues as far as Vaibhav is concerned.”
Sooryavanshi was picked in India’s T20I squad for the first time following a stellar IPL 2026 season in which he top-scored with 776 runs at a strike rate of 237.30, winning the Orange Cap, the MVP, and Emerging Player awards.
He is currently in Sri Lanka, representing India A for the first time, in a 50-over tri-series against Afghanistan A and Sri Lanka A, and became the focal point of an on field confrontation that involved physical contact during the game against the hosts.
While no official sanctions have been announced for any code of conduct breaches, the A-team tri-series falls within the jurisdiction of the host board – Sri Lanka Cricket – and not the ICC or BCCI. Saikia dismissed the notion of the BCCI taking any action.
“A lot of things are going on in the social media that BCCI is contemplating action, etc. Do you want BCCI to step into the domain of match referee?” Saikia said. “The BCCI is not an authority, we should not intrude into the area where the match referee and the umpires are the main persons who can take any decision regarding any incident that had happened in the playground.
“Whatever had happened, it was a part of the game, and the BCCI have no role to play. The role is of the match referee. If anything is going wrong, he will take a call, the umpires will take a call, and there is a system in place.”
Sooryavanshi has so far scored only 117 runs with a high score of 44 in four innings in the tri-series , but those runs have come at a strike rate of 153.94. India A have qualified for the final in Dambulla on June 21.
[Cricinfo]
Sports
Luis Diaz, Colombia defeat World Cup 2026 debutants Uzbekistan
Colombia opened their World Cup Group K campaign with a 3-1 victory over Uzbekistan at the Estadio Azteca on Wednesday, as Daniel Munoz, Luis Diaz and Jaminton Campaz struck to overcome a spirited second-half response from the tournament debutants.
Uzbekistan were disciplined for long periods under their Italian coach Fabio Cannavaro, but Colombia’s greater quality stood out in front of a crowd of over 80,000 on a cool, rain-tinged evening in Mexico City.
Colombia the Copa America runners-up, had early sights of goal through Jhon Arias and James Rodriguez, but Uzbekistan sat deep, scrapped gamely and waited for mistakes. Bekhruz Karimov almost profited when he burst forward, only for Jhon Lucumi to intervene before he could shoot.
Diaz had the clearest chance of the opening half when he struck the post, before Abdukodir Khusanov slid in after the winger had knocked the ball past him, taking out both the Colombian player and a pitchside cameraman who required medical treatment.
Uzbekistan’s resistance finally cracked in the 40th minute. Diaz gathered the ball after an attack had broken down and clipped a fine pass into the path of Munoz, who guided home a neat finish for his third international goal.
The large Colombian contingent erupted, their yellow shirts making the Azteca look and sound almost like home. Chants of “Vamos Colombia”, adapted from a Club America-style chorus, rolled around the ground, while Uzbekistan’s small band of supporters answered with drums of their own.

Uzbekistan improved after the break and equalised on the hour with the country’s first World Cup goal.
Dostonbek Khamdamov fed Eldor Shomurodov, whose shot from the right side of the box was saved low by Camilo Vargas. The goalkeeper could not hold it, however, and Abbosbek Fayzullaev nodded in the rebound from close range.

However, Uzbekistan’s joy lasted only five minutes.
Gustavo Puerta released Diaz in the 65th minute, and the forward side-footed across goal to restore Colombia’s lead. The crowd responded with chants of “Lucho, Lucho”.
Uzbekistan kept pushing. Akmal Mozgovoy shot narrowly off target in stoppage time, Karimov hit the bar with an effort from distance, and Azizbek Amonov had a shot blocked after Otabek Shukurov’s pass.
But Colombia had the final word, Campaz scoring in the ninth minute of stoppage time to settle a contest in which Nestor Lorenzo’s side had 15 attempts to Uzbekistan’s nine, and extended their strong recent group-stage record to seven wins in eight World Cup matches.
Colombia face DR Congo on Tuesday in Guadalajara, after Uzbekistan play Portugal on the same day in Houston.

[Aljazeera]
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