Sports
Big boys return for World Test Championship
by Rex Clementine
Having dumped several seniors from Sri Lanka’s white ball teams, the national selection panel has recalled them for the two match Test series against West Indies that will get underway on Sunday at the Galle International Stadium. This is Sri Lanka’s first assignment in the World Test Championship and a total of 24 points (12 points per Test) is on offer.
Skipper Dimuth Karunaratne along with former captains Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal and Suranga Lakmal have been named in a 22 member squad. Middle order batsman Roshen Silva and top order batsman Oshada Fernando also have been recalled. Both Tests will be played in Galle in a ‘bio-secure bubble’.
Galle is traditionally a happy hunting ground for Sri Lanka but in recent times they have fared badly at the venue. The team lost both Tests against England this year as the spin duo of Jack Leach and Dom Bess from Somerset outperformed their Sri Lankan counterparts.
Left-arm spinner Lasith Embuldeniya, who missed the Bangladesh Tests due to injury also has been named in the squad as Sri Lanka look to bank on their spin options to beat West Indies. Returning to the Test squad along with Lakmal is his new ball partner Vishwa Fernando, who has been quite impressive in recent months.
The squad includes three uncapped players in top order batsman Kamil Mishara, leg-spinner Suminda Lakshan and right-arm quick Chamika Gunasekara.
There was a scare on Thursday after Sri Lanka’s fielding coach Shane McDermott tested positive for COVID and his close contacts Head Coach Mickey Arthur and Batting Coach Grant Flower were isolated. However, after a fresh pcr test, both Arthur and Flower have returned to the fold.
This is the final series for Sri Lanka’s coaching staff including Head Coach Mickey Arthur. The former South Africa First Class cricketer was immensely popular having built up a young team and done so well during the T-20 World Cup. He was seeking an extension to his contract that will end in December but SLC seems to be having other ideas. Arthur (56) will now join English county Derbyshire.
Sri Lanka
(From) Dimuth Karunaratne (Captain), Oshada Fernando, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Dhananjaya de Silva, Pathum Nissanka, Charith Asalanka, Kamil Mishara, Minod Bhanuka, Roshen Silva, Ramesh Mendis, Chamika Karunaratne, Praveen Jayawickrama, Lasith Embuldeniya, Lakshan Sandakan, Suminda Lakshan, Suranga Lakmal, Vishwa Fernando, Dushmantha Chameera, Lahiru Kumara, Asitha Fernando, Chamika Gunasekara.
Charith Asalanka (Captain), Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Pavan Rathnayake, Dhananjaya de Silva, Janith Liyanage, Kamindu Mendis, Dunith Wellalage, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jeffrey Vandersay, Maheesh Theekshana, Milan Rathnayake, Asitha Fernando, Pramod Madushan, Eshan Malinga.
On Tuesday, a day before the ICC is expected to take a final call on Bangladesh’s participation at the 2026 men’s T20 World Cup, the PCB wrote to the governing body stating that it supports the BCB’s stance on not wanting to play in India at a time of political turmoil in the neighbourhood. ESPNcricinfo has learned that that PCB also copied the members of the ICC Board in it.
It is understood that the ICC has called a Board meeting on Wednesday to address the matter of the BCB asking for Bangladesh’s matches to be shifted to Sri Lanka because of security concerns in India. It could not be ascertained if the PCB’s email led to the Board meeting being called.
The timing of the PCB email could raise eyebrows, but it is understood that it will not impact the ICC’s stance so far, of not changing the World Cup schedule and allowing Bangladesh to play in Sri Lanka, co-hosts of the tournament with India. The ICC has been firm on this and has conveyed the same to the BCB during its interactions last week.
The BCB, with the Bangladesh government’s support, has refused to travel to India for the team’s group-stage games.
The ICC and the BCB have met several times to discuss the issue, most recently in Dhaka last weekend. But neither side has shifted their stances – the ICC insisting matches must go ahead as planned and the BCB that it cannot send its team to India. January 21 – Wednesday – had been set as a deadline for a decision, less than three weeks before the start of the tournament.
The PCB’s late involvement in the matter comes on the back of a week of speculation around their possible ways out of the impasse. There were unverified reports that the PCB had offered to stage Bangladesh’s games in Pakistan and, more dramatically, that the PCB was reviewing Pakistan’s participation in the World Cup, contingent on what happens with Bangladesh.
The PCB has not commented publicly on the matter, or responded to ESPNcricinfo’s queries.
The stand-off began when the BCCI instructed Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to remove Mustafizur Rahman from their squad for IPL 2026. The reasons for that have never been fully explained, though a worsening of political ties between Bangladesh and India has been cited. That prompted the Bangladesh government to formally state that the Bangladesh team would not play its matches in India.
The situation has spiralled since then, even leading to a player boycott in Bangladesh, which affected the ongoing BPL, after a senior BCB official spoke disparagingly of the country’s premier players when asked about the financial implications for the BCB if Bangladesh ended up staying away from the T20 World Cup altogether
(Cricinfo)
Rain in Bulawayo allowed just ten overs of action between Bangladesh and New Zealand .
The match began an hour later than scheduled, and as a 47-over contest after Bangladesh opted to bowl. Iqbal Hossain Emon cleaned Hugo Bogue up for 8 in the second over, but just as Aryan Mann and Tom Jones steadied New Zealand, rain returned, only for no play to be possible after that.
It was New Zealand’s second washed-out game in a row, and they will hope to beat India in their final group game so that they don’t have to depend on the result of the Bangladesh-USA match to progress to the Super Sixes.
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