Sri Lanka Tour of India 2023 – The Srilankan selection team has concluded the decision to add Vandersay and Nuwanidu for the ODI leg of the team’s tour of India. Moreover, Rajapaksa and Thushara will be added for taking part in the t20 matches.
For the following month, the Sri Lankan team has finalized the 20-match squad for their tour of limited overs against the side of India. The tour will include a series of matches which will include three t20 matches and three 50-over ODI matches.
The Sri Lankan captain for the matches on both formats will be Dasun Shanaka. Moreover, Nunwan Thushara and, Bhanuka Rajapaksa is only set to play in the t20 matches scheduled against the Indian side whereas, Jeffery Vandersay and Nuwanidu Fernando will be playing in the 50-over format.
Dasun Shanaka is the designated captain for the tour and Kusal Mendis and Wanindu Hasaranga will be his designated deputies for the 20-over and the 50-over formats. For the squad that played against the side Afghanistan, three players have been excluded from the squad.
These players are Dhananjaya Lakshan, Asitha Fernando, and Dinesh Chandimal. The decision to rule out Dinesh Chandimal may have been his bad luck as he had performed well in all the previous matches. This can be view from his statistics in the Srilankan premier league.
Which concluded recently in which he was the third-highest scorer with a strike rate of 126.99 and averaging 31.88 in the duration of the tournament. Moreover, he played an integral part in taking the Colombo starts in the final.
Sri Lanka Tour of India 2023 – Dhananjaya Lakshan, Asitha Fernando and Dinesh Chandimal are Ruled Out from Sri Lanka Squad
It cannot be a poor decision to exclude Rajapaksa from the team following his below-average performances in the previous games. When we talk about the t20 format, just in the LPL he managed to score 95 runs throughout seven innings with a strike rate of 105.55.
I was far below the strike rate of his career which was 135.9. Although his performances in the t20 world cup were slightly promising. In the t20 world cup, the player managed to score 125 runs in 7 innings with a strike rate of 119.04. However, in the eyes of the selection, this was not enough, and Rajapaksa was eventually asked to sit out on the team’s tour of India.
However, it is clear why the remaining inclusions took place. Chamika Karunaratne was left out of the squad for their matches against Afghanistan as he had suffered from a lean stretch on and off the field.
Following his recovery, the player managed to perform well by taking 7 wickets and scoring 109 runs in the LPL. He also maintained an impressive strike rate of 162.68 which was a big jump from his career strike rate of 104.27.
In addition to that, Avishka Fernando, who had to rule out from playing following a gruesome knee injury, got a chance to play this month and put on a batting display in the LPL by scoring 339 runs.
Furthermore, teaming up with Avishka Fernando in Jaffna Kings, Sadeera Samarawickrama was named the player of the tournament in the LPL, who scored 294 runs in the tournament just after Fernando.
Similar to Sadeera, Nuwanidu wan another player under the spotlight. Although his team did not have the best tournament, his performances were a sight to see. The player managed to score 211 runs while maintaining a strike rate of 131.05. he managed t play best against spinners.
Nuwan Thushara also managed to put down the criticism by taking 14 wickets in the LPL. It was the second-highest in the LPL.
