Upul Tharanga will not play Test cricket for the next six months
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Sri Lanka batsman Upul Tharanga has opted to take a break from Test cricket for the next six months in order to focus on limited overs cricket.
Tharanga was recently handed the limited overs captaincy after Angelo Mathews stepped down as captain across all three formats.
However, in the recent ODI series against India, which was his first assignment since taking over the leadership role for limited overs matches, Tharanga and Sri Lanka were left embarrassed as India won the series 5-0.
To make matters worse, Tharanga was suspended for two of the five ODIs after committing an over-rate offence in the second ODI in Pallekele.
With Tharanga taking a hiatus from the longest format of the game, his name was not among the provisional 25-man squad for the upcoming series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates.
The squad is expected to be cut to 15 when the next selection committee is established. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) will have to appoint new selectors after chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya and his group of selectors reigned after the ODI series against India.
While Tharanga is the most glaringly obvious cricketer missing from the squad, there are a number of players who made the cut that haven’t donned the Sri Lanka jersey in the longest format for a while.
Among them are opener Kaushal Silva, who was dropped from the Test squad following a disappointing tour of South Africa earlier this year, where he scored 117 runs in three Tests at an average of 19.50.
Lahiru Thirimanne, who was recently recalled to the ODI squad, also found a place in the provisional squad, even though he has not played Test cricket since June 2016.
Dhammika Prasad, Akila Dananjaya and the uncapped duo of Sadeera Samarawickrama and Charith Asalanka, who captained Sri Lanka’s Under-19 squad last year, were also included in the side.
Sri Lanka’s provisional squad: Dinesh Chandimal (capt), Dimuth Karunaratne, Kaushal Silva, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Lahiru Thirimanne, Niroshan Dickwella, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Rangana Herath, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep, Lakshan Sandakan, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Jeffrey Vandersay, Milinda Siriwardana, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dushmantha Chameera, Dilruwan Perera, Malinda Pushpakumara, Roshen Silva, Akila Dananjaya, Charith Asalanka, Shaminda Eranga, Dhammika Prasad