Angelo and Dimuth will be crucial moving forward – Dasun 

Rex Clementine
at Suriyawewa  

Sri Lanka white ball captain Dasun Shanaka has welcomed the return of seniors Angelo Mathews and Dimuth Karunaratne to the ODI team after they were sidelined with the selectors launching their youth policy two years ago. While Mathews returned to the fea in New Zealand, Karunaratne will feature in the three match ODI series against Afghanistan starting at Suriyawewa today (Friday).

“It’s good to have Angelo and Dimuth back in the squad. Their experience is vital. We already had Angelo in New Zealand and now we have Dimuth adding depth. We looked at a lot of youngsters in the last couple of years and that’s why they missed out. Their presence makes our side stronger now,” Shanaka told journalists.

“This series we are targeting mostly for qualifiers. So, we will use a few combinations to get things right. We are looking to use three quicks for the game,” Shanaka added.

Leg-spinner Dushan Hemantha and quick Matheesha Pathirana are set to make their debuts today. While Pathirana has featured in a T-20I, Hemantha is uncapped. He will come in for Wanindu Hasaranga, who is nursing a foot injury.

Afghanistan themselves have injury concerns with star leg-spinner Rashid Khan ruled out with a lower back injury. He will miss the first two ODIs.

“Rashid has a back issue. So, hoping he recovers quickly. Looks like he will miss the first two games. He is our main bowler. He is our superstar, but it’s important that we keep him fresh for the Asia Cup and World Cup,” Hashmatullah Shahidi, the Afghanistan captain said.

Afghanistan have already qualified for the World Cup and will be using this series as preparation for the game’s showpiece event. Sri Lanka, meanwhile, will try and get their combination right for the World Cup qualifiers.

“This series will be a sort of preparation for us. Conditions in India and Sri Lanka are the same, so we are looking forward for it,” Hashmatullah added.

Sri Lanka Squad:

Dasun Shanaka (Captain), Kusal Mendis (Vice-Captain) (WK), Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Sadeera Samarawickrama (WK), Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushan Hemantha, Chamika Karunaratne, Dushmantha Chameera, Matheesha Pathirana, Lahiru Kumara, Kasun Rajitha 

Afghanistan Squad:

Hashmatullah Shahidi (Captain), Rahmat Shah (Vice-Captain), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhail (WK), Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujib ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Abdul Rahman, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Farid Ahmad Malik.