Sri Lanka announce 18-member squad for Australia Test series: Details
What's the story
Sri Lanka have announced their 18-player squad for the upcoming home Test series against Australia. The team features two uncapped players in the form of Lahiru Udara and Sonal Dinusha. Despite injury concerns over captain Dhananjaya de Silva and opener Pathum Nissanka, both have been included in the team along with star batter Kamindu Mendis, who was cleared earlier this week.
Squad changes
New faces replace Embuldeniya and Rajitha in Test squad
Notably, the squad for the Australia series also sees left-arm spinner Lasith Embuldeniya and speedster Kasun Rajitha dropped. Their places have been taken by wrist-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay, batter Lahiru Udara, and all-rounder Sonal Dinusha. While Udara has previously played in T20 Internationals, this will be his first Test match appearance if picked.
Player profile
Uncapped Dinusha's impressive First-Class record
Dinusha, the other uncapped player in the squad, has an impressive First-Class record of 2,285 runs and 94 wickets from 44 appearances. His batting and bowling averages are a healthy 40.1 and 24.1 respectively. In his last six First-Class innings, Dinusha scored 107, 117, 85, 116*, 30, and 62, showcasing his potential as a valuable addition to the team.
Squad exclusion
Ramesh Mendis left out of squad for Australia series
Ramesh Mendis, who owns 62 of his 69 Test wickets in Galle, the venue for both Tests against Australia, has been dropped from the side. Mendis was also left out of Sri Lanka's last home Test against New Zealand in favor of debutant Nishan Peiris, who took nine wickets in that match. The latter has been retained for this series.
Twitter Post
A look at SL's full squad
Here’s the Sri Lanka Test Squad ready to take on the Warne-Murali Test Series 2025 at the iconic Galle International Cricket Stadium!
— Sri Lanka Cricket 🇱🇰 (@OfficialSLC) January 24, 2025
Let’s rally behind our lions as they gear up for this epic battle! #SLvsAUS #SriLankaCricket pic.twitter.com/Zst8FR9XdH