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Illness a concern for Sri Lanka as they flag off new era alongside India
It will be the start of a new T20I era for both India and Sri Lanka when they come face-to-face in Pallekele today. For India, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja have retired from the format and Suryakumar Yadav has been named the new captain. Sri Lanka have moved on from Angelo Mathews, while Charith Asalanka has replaced Wanindu Hasaranga at the helm. Both teams have a new head coach as well. India have got Gautam Gambhir and Sri Lanka Sanath Jayasuriya the latter in an interim capacity, though.
While it is a new beginning for both teams, their starting points could not have been more different. India recently ended their long-awaited ICC trophy drought by winning the 2024 T20 World Cup, a tournament where Sri Lanka were knocked out in the first round.
After that, India sent a second-string side to Zimbabwe where they won the five-match T20I series 4-1. Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan players were busy with the Lanka Premier League where Asalanka led Jaffna Kings to the tittle.
Both Asalanka and Suryakumar have previously led their national sides. Asalanka in two T20Is against Bangladesh earlier this year and Suryakumar in seven T20Is in late 2023 against Australia and South Africa.
India are still not at full strength for this series, though. Jasprit Bumrah, arguably the best bowler in the world right now, has been rested. Sri Lanka, meanwhile, have been dealt a few blows even before the start of the series. First, they lost Dushmantha Chameera (bronchitis), then Nuwan Thushara (broken finger), and now Binura Fernando who has been hospitalised with a chest infection. There is a flu going around their camp, forcing them to call up allrounder Ramesh Mendis as a standby.
Playing for Colombo Strikers, Matheesha Pathirana was the joint second highest wicket taker in the LPL with 15 scalps in nine matches. What stood out even more was his death bowling. In that phase, his economy of 7.02 was easily the best among those who bowled at least five overs at death. Throughout the tournament, Pathirana never bowled more than one over in the first half of the innings, a template likely to be followed by Sri Lanka as well. And having played in the IPL since 2022, Pathirana has plenty of experience of bowling to India batters.
Shubman Gill has admitted that his performance in T20Is leading up to the T20 World Cup was not up to expectations. From August 2023 until the World Cup, he scored 113 runs in eight T2-Is at an average of 16.62 and a strike rate of 126.66. While he did much better in the IPL – 426 runs at an average of 38.72 and a strike rate of 147.40 – once India made their mind to open with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli at the World Cup, there was no room for Gill in the squad. But the selectors have shown their faith by naming him the vice-captain for both ODIs and T20Is. It is up to Gill now to repay it.
Kusal Perera had an excellent LPL as an opener. But with Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis being the first choice for that role, Perera will have to fight it out with Avishka Fernando for a No. 3 role.
Sri Lanka Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (wk), Avishka Fernando/Kusal Perera, Kamindu Mendis, Charith Asalanka (capt), Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Asitha Fernando, Dilshan Madushanka, Matheesha Pathirana
Given the conditions, India are likely to pick Ravi Bishnoi as a third spinner over Khaleel Ahmed. Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson and Riyan Parag will compete for one middle-order spot.
India Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant (wk), Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi/Khaleel Ahmed, Mohammed Siraj
There will be no auction for this year’s Lanka Premier League, Sri Lanka Cricket has announced, with a player draft set to take place instead on March 22.
The sixth edition of the LPL had originally been slated for early December 2025, but was postponed on account of ensuring the readiness of venues for the 2026 World Cup set to be co-hosted by Sri Lanka and India. The league has since been scheduled to take place from July 8 to August 8, which is the SLC’s preferred window.
This will be the first time since 2022 that a draft system is being utilised in the LPL, with both of the past two seasons hosting player auctions.
“During the draft, franchises will select both Sri Lankan and overseas players for the upcoming season of Sri Lanka’s premier domestic T20 tournament,” an SLC media release confirmed.
The inclusion of a sixth team had also been mooted prior to the competition’s postponement, however there have been no developments on that front since. Each of the first five editions of the LPL saw five teams representing Colombo, Galle, Kandy, Dambulla and Jaffna compete.
Earlier this year, Jaffna Kings – formerly the longest-standing franchise, having joined in the tournament’s second edition – and Colombo Strikers were terminated by SLC for “failure to uphold contractual obligations.” As a result, the LPL currently has no franchise owners with a history stretching back beyond 2024. New owners for both the Jaffna and Colombo teams are yet to be announced.
[Cricinfo]
Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado will meet President Donald Trump on Thursday, the White House has confirmed.
The visit comes just weeks after Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was seized in Caracas by US forces. But Trump declined to endorse Machado, whose movement claimed victory in 2024’s widely contested elections, as its new leader.
The US instead backed Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s former vice-president.
Machado said last week she hoped to thank Trump personally for the action against Maduro and would like to give the Nobel Prize to him. Trump called it “a great honour”, but the Nobel Committee later clarified that it was not transferable.
Earlier, Trump had expressed displeasure over Machado’s decision to accept the Nobel Peace Prize, an honour the president has long coveted.
Asked on Friday whether receiving Machado’s prize might change his view of her role in Venezuela, the president said: “She might be involved in some aspect of it.”
“I will have to speak to her. I think it’s very nice that she wants to come in. And that’s what I understand the reason is,” he said.
Earlier this month, after Maduro’s ouster, Trump had said Machado “doesn’t have the support within, or the respect within, the country”. “She’s a very nice woman, but she doesn’t have the respect,” he said.
The US has so far backed Delcy Rodríguez as Venezuela’s interim president.
Trump describes Rodríguez as an “ally”, and she has not been charged by US officials with any crimes.
“Delcy Rodríguez and her team have been very cooperative with the United States,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday.
But Machado has maintained that her coalition should “absolutely” be in charge of the country.
Machado has said nobody trusted Rodríguez, telling CBS that the interim leader was “one of the main architects… of repression for innocent people” in the South American country.
“Everybody in Venezuela and abroad knows perfectly who she is and the role she has played,” Machado said.
The former legislator, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year, described US military action in Venezuela as “a major step towards restoring prosperity and rule of law and democracy in Venezuela”.
Rodríguez has rebuffed claims by Trump that the US was in charge of Venezuela.
“The Venezuelan government rules our country, and no-one else does,” she said in a televised speech. “There is no external agent governing Venezuela.”
[BBC]
In terms of the provisions of the Establishments Code on payment of festival advance to government officers, there’s a possibility of obtaining rupees 10,000/- as an advance for celebrating festivals of Theipongal, Ramazan, Sinhala and Hindu New Year, Wesak, Deepavali, and Christmas as well as for pilgrimages (Sri Paada pilgrimage and Hajj pilgrimage).
Provisions have been given to recover the said advance in 08 installments or if required earlier without interest. It has been proposed by the Budget 2026 to increase the said festival advance up to rupees 15,000/-.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers granted approval to the proposal submitted by the Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local governments to revise the relevant provisions so that the festival advance can be increased up to rupees 15,000/- .
Lanka Premier League draft set to take place on March 22
Trump to meet Venezuelan opposition leader Machado at the White House
Festival advance for government officers to be increased
Providing underutilized lands/properties to suitable investors for optimal utilization.
Implementation of the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy
Expressions of Interest called to develop selected locations within the Pelawatte Sugar Factory premises
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
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