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Sri Lanka, minus Hasaranga, take on Oman at bogey venue

Published

3 weeks ago

2026/02/12

Priyan

Dushan Hemantha, the leg-spinning allrounder, is on paper a like-for-like for Hasaranga

On most days Sri Lanka would enter Thursday’s clash in Kandy against Oman as heavy favourites. They’ve beaten Oman in their solitary meeting – an ODI in 2023 – and are generally formidable in home conditions. But the psychological and tactical knock-on effects of Wanidu Hasaranga being ruled out of the tournament provide an intriguing backdrop.

The star legspinner is a renowned bully of Associates and those lower down the T20 rungs, as highlighted by his match-turning 3 for 25 against Ireland, whose batters found him too much to handle even on one leg. His absence therefore leaves a massive hole in Sri Lanka’s middle-overs containment plan – one Oman will no doubt be looking to exploit – while his power-hitting will also be missed.

His replacement, legspinning allrounder Dushan Hemantha, is like-for-like cover on paper, but the only area in which Hemantha has regularly excelled in in his handful of international white-ball outings has been in the field. The pressure will squarely shift to Maheesh Theekshana and Dunith Wellalage to spearhead the spin attack, with neither being as proficient a wicket-taker as Hasaranga.

Sri Lanka’s bowling had been their trump card coming into this tournament, but Hasaranga’s injury following that of Eshan Malinga’s days prior to the tournament have exposed yet another chink in their armour.

Sri Lanka’s batting concerns have also been exacerbated by Hasaranga’s absence. The middle order has struggled for consistency, particularly against spin – a challenge they’re likely to face in abundance against a spin-centric Omani attack – and now one of their better spin hitters is out.

Runs up the order from Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis have been crucial to Sri Lanka’s recent successes, while a revelatory knock from Kamindu Mendis against Ireland has offered hope lower down. But you sense the key to an unlikely upset will be whether Oman can access Sri Lanka’s soft middle cheaply – do that and it’s anybody’s game.

For Oman, this is a quintessential do-or-die fixture. Currently at the bottom of Group B after a loss to Zimbabwe, they must secure a victory to keep their Super Eight hopes alive. They can draw confidence from their warm-up victory over a Sri Lanka A side earlier this month, where Aamir Kaleem’s blistering 80 and Vinayak Shukla’s finishing proved they can compete with the islanders’ second string. They will also need to find a way to contend with the express pair of Dushmantha Chameera and Matheesha Pathirana, having lost nine wickets to Zimbabwe’s seamers in their opener.

Kamindu Mendis wasn’t even supposed to be here. But Sri Lanka are grateful that he is. Picked, dropped, and picked again, Kamindu has never been sure of a place in Sri Lanka’s XI, but a Player-of-the-Match 44 off 19 against Ireland has removed the doubts. Sri Lanka had been crying out for his ability to bat anywhere in the middle order and provide impetus through the middle overs – particularly against spin.

Sri Lanka’s batters struggled to get away Ireland’s modest spin offering at the Khettarama. The pitch in Pallekele might not be as helpful, but recent history has shown that spinners will still play a role. As such, Sri Lanka will need to be particularly wary of Shakeel Ahmed‘s accuracy. He picked up 2 for 24 against the Sri Lanka A side, and if the Pallekele pitch offers any turn, he is the most likely candidate to exploit the co-hosts’ historical struggles against disciplined left-arm spin.

Hasaranga’s injury will test Sri Lanka’s resolve in whether they stick to a 6-5 combination. Hemantha could slot in for Hasaranga, or Sri Lanka might opt for an extra batter.

Sri Lanka (probable): Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Kusal Mendis (wk), Pavan Rathnayake, Kamindu Mendis, Dasun Shanaka (capt), Dunith Wellalage, Dushan Hemantha, Dushmantha Chameera, Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana.

Oman have no injury concerns and are likely to name an unchanged XI.

Oman (probable): Jatinder Singh (capt), Aamir Kaleem, Hammad Mirza, Wasim Ali, Karan Sonavale, Jiten Ramanandi, Vinayak Shukla (wk), Sufyan Mehmood, Nadeem Khan, Shah Faisal, Shakeel Ahmed.

[Cricinfo]

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US and Venezuela agree to resume diplomatic ties after Maduro capture

Published

22 mins ago

2026/03/6

Priyan

Venezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodriguez and US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum agreed to work together to develop mining in Venezuela this week The US and Venezuela have agreed to re-establish diplomatic (BBC)

The US and Venezuela have agreed to re-establish diplomatic and consular relations.

The agency said in a statement that the two sides would make joint efforts to promote stability, support economic recovery and advance political reconciliation.

While their diplomatic relations have been improving since the US military captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January in a surprise raid, the announcement of formal bilateral ties marks a hugely symbolic step.

President Donald Trump ordered troops to seize Maduro and his wife, bringing them to a Manhattan court to face allegations of weapon and drug offences, which they deny.

(BBC)

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Sri Lanka evacuates crew of second Iranian vessel after US sunk IRIS Dena

Published

10 hours ago

2026/03/6

Priyan

Rescued Iranian sailors from the IRIS Dena warship arrive to the Judicial Medical Officer at Karapitiya Hospital in Galle, Sri Lanka on March 5, 2026 [Aljazeera]

Sri Lanka has evacuated more than 200 crew members from a second Iranian naval vessel off its coast, a day after a US submarine sank an Iranian frigate in the same waters, leaving 87 sailors dead.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake announced on Thursday that his navy would take custody of the second ship and move it to the northeastern port of Trincomalee for safekeeping, amid fears it could be targeted. He said his government held discussions with Iranian officials and the captain of the ship.

Sri Lankan officials say 87 bodies were recovered and 32 people rescued from the roughly 180 people believed to have been on board IRIS Dena sunk on Wednesday.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday confirmed that a US submarine sank the vessel amid US-Israeli attacks on Iran.

Cabinet spokesperson Nalinda Jayatissa told parliament the vessel was positioned near Colombo, inside Sri Lanka’s exclusive economic zone but beyond its territorial waters, adding that authorities were doing “their utmost to safeguard lives”.

The developments came as Washington confirmed it had torpedoed the IRIS Dena, an Iranian frigate returning from a peacetime naval exercise hosted by India, marking the first time a US submarine has sunk an enemy warship by torpedo since the second world war.

Sri Lankan coastguards received a distress call from the IRIS Dena at 5:08am on Wednesday (23:28 GMT on Tuesday), with surviving crew describing an explosion. Rescue vessels arrived to find the frigate already gone, navy spokesperson Buddhika Sampath said, with only an oil slick and floating life rafts remaining at the scene.

Thirty-two survivors, all seriously injured, were taken to Galle National Hospital. Eighty-seven bodies were recovered from the sea, Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath said. More than 10 sailors remain missing.

The frigate, which was carrying about 180 crew, had been sailing home after participating in a major multinational naval exercise in the Bay of Bengal involving ships from 74 countries when it was struck roughly 44 nautical miles (81km) off Sri Lanka’s southern coast.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed the strike at a Pentagon briefing, releasing black-and-white footage of a Mark 48 torpedo hitting the frigate’s stern. “An American submarine sank an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters,” he said. “Quiet death.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called it “an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles [3,219km] from Iran’s shores,” noting the ship had been a guest of India’s navy when struck without warning.

“The US will come to bitterly regret the precedent it has set,” he wrote on social media. He later fired back at Trump’s claim that the operation was running ahead of schedule, “Plan A for a clean rapid military victory failed, Mr President.”

The IRIS Dena was one of more than 20 Iranian navy vessels destroyed since the United States and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iran on February 28, targeting the country’s leadership, missile arsenals and nuclear infrastructure in an operation aimed at dislodging the current government.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed on the second day of the attacks, triggering protests in the country and beyond.

As of Tuesday, not a single Iranian warship remained under way in the the Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz or the Gulf of Oman, US Central Command chief Admiral Brad Cooper said.

Questions have also been raised about the legality of the attack in international waters.

The Israeli-US attacks have killed more than 1,000 people in Iran and displaced more than 100,000 from Tehran, according to the UN.

In a striking illustration of how far Washington’s war aims have stretched, Trump told Reuters on Thursday that the US intended to play a role in choosing Iran’s next supreme leader.

“We want to be involved in the process of choosing the person who is going to lead Iran into the future,” he said.

Sri Lanka, which has declared neutrality and called for “restraint and immediate de-escalation,” now finds itself hosting the human wreckage from a war being fought on its doorstep.

“Neutrality and humaneness is the priority. We have responsibilities as a neutral country. All parties must be committed to peace,” the Sri Lankan president said on Thursday.

[Aljazeera]

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First UK government flight departs Middle East after delay

Published

10 hours ago

2026/03/6

Priyan

[pic BBC]

A flight chartered by the UK government to bring back some Britons stranded in the Middle East has departed after being delayed.

Problems with getting passengers on board meant the plane, due to leave Oman’s capital Muscat on Wednesday, had remained grounded.

Thousands of British nationals are stuck in the Middle East, after US-Israeli strikes on Iran prompted retaliatory strikes by Iran across the region.

Giving an update on the situation on Thursday afternoon, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer confirmed the chartered flight had departed Oman.

Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel said returning UK nationals was “an enormous exercise and ministers must be honest about all their actions”.

She asked what was being done to get British nationals home and questioned why “Britain was so woefully unprepared” for the war.

More than 130,000 Britons in the region have registered for updates from the UK government.

Sir Keir said more than 4,000 people have arrived back in the UK on commercial flights from the UAE, including “vulnerable Brits”.

A further seven flights are due to leave the UAE for the UK on Thursday, he said, adding that the government will lay on additional charter flights in the coming days.

He said British Airways is putting on daily flights from Oman, and the government will keep working with partners to “increase the speed and capacity of this airlift”.

Foreign Office minister Hamish Falconer described the situation as “a consular challenge on a scale not seen since Covid” and said there were “no instant solutions”.

Britons in Oman will be contacted as soon as the additional government-organised flights from Muscat become available, Falconer said.

However, he said commercial flights becoming available were “by far the most likely and the most rapid routes back to the UK”.

In response, the shadow foreign secretary criticised the government’s position on the conflict, calling Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper “weak and feeble”.

Patel said the US, Cyprus, the UAE and Bahrain felt let down by the UK’s lack of involvement.

Cooper had “failed in her duty to stand up for Britain’s place in the world” and had not provided the leadership needed to protect military personnel, British bases and British nationals, she added.

Regarding the delayed flight, Home Office minister Alex Norris earlier told LBC: “It didn’t take off because there are operational reasons… about getting passengers on board, and it wasn’t able to happen in the time that it had to happen.”

On Thursday evening, a plane sent by France to Dubai to repatriate its citizens reportedly had to turn back because of missile fire.

French Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said the turning round of the French plane underscored the instability in the region and the complexity of safely carrying out repatriation operations.

Those eligible for government flights are being asked to pay for seats. When announcing the initial flight, the Foreign Office said it would prioritise the most vulnerable people, and that only British nationals, their spouse or partner, and children under 18 would be offered a seat.

Rajen Shah A landscape image of passengers queuing in an airport terminal — *Passengers queue at Muscat airport on Thursday after Qatar Airways said they would begin operation a limited number of relief flights for some places in Middle East [BBC]*

Foreign Office officials said 138,000 British nationals in the Gulf had registered their presence, of whom 112,000 were in the United Arab Emirates.

Following the missile strikes across the Middle East, airspace remains severely restricted, with flights completely or partially grounded over Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Syria, the UAE and Israel.

A passenger on the flight, named Mark, messaged the BBC as it was about to take off. He’s travelling with his young family to London Stansted.

He described the “complete shambles” of Wednesday’s delayed flight – check-in took two hours, and they were stuck on a bus to the plane for another hour with “no communication from the craft or the crew”.

Mark said someone had a panic attack on the bus, and once the doors finally opened, they were told the crew were working out of hours, meaning the flight would not legally be able to reach Cairo.

Britons unable to secure a seat on the charter flight have been looking for alternative ways home.

Sam Sahabandu, 47, from Northamptonshire, who got stuck in Muscat after his flight back to London from Sri Lanka was diverted, was due to be on a Qatar Airways flight to Heathrow on Thursday afternoon local time.

Sahabandu said Muscat Airport appeared “relatively peaceful” despite the disruption, and some other passengers were being routed through other cities such as Rome to get back to the UK.

Poppy Cleary wears a pink and black stripey tshirt while looking directly at the camera. She appears to be in a hotel room with cream walls and brown curtains over her shoulder — *Poppy Cleary is trying to get back to the UK after her flight was diverted to Muscat [BBC]*

Poppy Cleary, 27, was one of those stranded in Muscat after her flight from Singapore was diverted to Oman on Saturday. She told BBC Your Voice that she registered and paid for a charter flight, but never heard back.

She said the British Embassy in Oman told her the first flight was not for people who had been diverted to Muscat, but instead for people who had come to Oman from “unsafe countries” including the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar.

Cleary said she was “relieved” to eventually secure a place on the Qatar Airways flight leaving Oman on Thursday, telling the BBC after boarding that it did not appear to be full, with a “fair amount of empty seats”.

One woman selected for a space on the government charter flight said she had to decline her spot as her parents – who have indefinite leave to remain in the UK, but are Sri Lankan passport holders – were not eligible.

Erasha Amarasinghe, a 39-year-old doctor from Northampton, told BBC Your Voice: “I am travelling with my disabled mother and my father who has cognitive impairment. I feel stuck as I cannot leave my parents behind.”

Handover A young woman sites outside on a sunny day - she has darker skin with brown hair, is waring some make up and is smiling at the camera — *Erasha Amarasinghe had received a place on the flight, but had to turn it down [BBC]*

There were emotional scenes at Edinburgh Airport on Wednesday night as some 300 passengers landed on an Emirates flight from Dubai.

Andrew Crow and Jean Weir, from Glasgow, had checked out of the Fairmont The Palm hotel in Dubai just hours before it was caught in a large explosion on Saturday.

“The flight was a long one on the way back, I can assure you, but we are relieved to be home,” Andrew said.

Victoria Cameron, from Larkhall, had been travelling home from New Zealand via Dubai when flights in the Middle East were grounded.

“The staff said ‘run, run, leave your suitcases’,” she told the BBC. “Our phones were going off, saying ’emergency alert’. We were crying, we were shaking.”

A mother and son wait for a family member at Edinburgh Airport. They are holding up a sign that says Welcome Home Papa — *A mother and son wait for a family member at Edinburgh Airport, where a commercial flight landed from Dubai on Wednesday evening [BBC]*

Meanwhile, the UK government continues to set out its wider response to the crisis in the Middle East, including deploying a warship to the area close to Cyprus.

The Royal Navy destroyer HMS Dragon will be sent to the Mediterranean, possibly next week, to bolster defences around a British military base at Akrotiri after it was hit by an Iranian drone.

[BBC]