IND vs SL: Possible Sri Lanka Playing 11 for 1st T20I

SL Playing 11: Sri Lanka tour of India begins February 24 when both the teams will square off at Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow for the 1^st of the three T20Is. Led by Dasun Shanaka, Sri Lanka is coming after facing a 4-1 defeat against T20 World Champions Australia and will be hoping for a better scoreline against Men in Blue who will be without many big names such as Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, and others.

The tourists have named an 18-member squad with slight tweaks that toured Australia. The likes of Avishka Fernando, Nuwan Thusara, and Ramesh Mendis are missing out while Wanindu Hasaranga and Binura Fernando who missed out the last few games against Australia have been included.

The 1^st T20I will be played in Lucknow on 24 February, followed by the 2^nd and 3^rd T20 in Dharamshala on February 26 and 27 respectively. The three-match T20I will be followed by 2 matches Test series scheduled to be played in Mohali and Bengaluru from March 04 and March 12 respectively.

Team News

The tourists have announced an 18-member squad for T20Is
Avishka Fernando and Nuwan Thushara have been omitted from the squad
Fernando has suffered a knee injury while Nuwan Thushara misses out from the squad due to a side strain
Bhanuka Rajapaksa is also missing from the squad owing to fitness issues
Wanindu Hasaranga has been ruled out of the series after failing to recover from Covid-19
Binura Fernando is available for selection after missing out on the last couple of games against Australia due to testing Covid 19 positive
Ashian Daniel has earned a maiden T20I call

SL Playing 11 (likely)

Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis are expected to open the innings
Nissanka was the top run-scorer in the series while Mendis slammed an unbeaten fifty in the last game after missing out on starting few games due to Covid 19
Charith Asalanka, Dasun Shanaka and Chamika Karunaratne are likely to form the middle order
Maheesh Theekshana and one of P Jayawickrama or J Vendersay will form the spin attack
Dushmantha Chameera and Chamika Karunaratne will handle the pace attack alongside one of Lahiru Kumara or Binura Fernando

Pathum Nissanka
Kusal Mendis (wk)
Charith Asalanka
Dinesh Chandimal/D Gunathilaka
Janith Liyanage/Kamil Mishara
Dasun Shanaka (c)
Chamika Karunaratne
Praveen Jayawickrama/Jeffrey Vandersay
Maheesh Theekshana
Dushmantha Chameera
Lahiru Kumara/Binura Fernando

Sri Lanka Squad

Dasun Shanaka (c), Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Charith Asalanka, Dinesh Chandimal, Danushka Gunathilaka, Kamil Mishara, Janith Liyanage, Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Dushmantha Chameera, Lahiru Kumara, Binura Fernando, Shiran Fernando, Maheesh Theekshana, Jeffrey Vandersay, Praveen Jayawickrama, Ashian Daniel – Subjected to Ministerial approval

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Pathum Nissanka was the only silver lining for Sri Lanka on the Australia tour. The right-handed top-order batter finished as the top run-scorer in the series. Nissanka slammed 184 runs in 5 innings at an average of 36.80 against Australia and will be the key for the tourists against India too.

	Matches	Runs Scored	Strike Rate
Overall T20	47	1158	122.15

Dushmantha Chameera will be the key for Sri Lanka in the bowling lineup. He finished as the most wicket-taker for Sri Lanka on the Australia tour, picking up 7 wickets in 5 games.