Chief Selector Upul Tharanga says Sri Lanka will look to turn a new chapter in white ball cricket as the team prepares to clash with world champions India in a three-match T20I and ODI series starting later this month.
Speaking to The Sunday Morning Sports, the former skipper said that he and his co-selectors were currently closely monitoring the performances of the national side in the ongoing Lanka Premier League (LPL) domestic T20 tournament.
“We will look to finalise the squad for the T20 series against India by mid this month,” he said. “I think this series will be an opportunity for us (Sri Lanka) to begin the next cycle of white ball cricket that will encompass the next T20 World Cup which we will co-host in 2026 and the ODI World Cup in South Africa and Zimbabwe in the following year.”
Wholesale changes
Asked whether there would be any wholesale changes to the squad, Tharanga noted that it was too early to comment to that effect as the “selection brains trust” was keeping tabs on individual player performances.
However, he predicted that there were equal possibilities for either a radical overhaul of the white ball team composition or for the retention of the core of the squad which contested the World Cup last month.
However, the Chief Selector refused to shed more light on what those changes could be, as they needed to consider a wide array of factors ahead of taking bold decisions on that front.
Fairly powerful
The former opener also expects India to send a fairly powerful squad to Sri Lanka for the forthcoming series, despite a slew of seniors having retired in the wake of their memorable seven-run win over South Africa in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final at Barbados on 29 June.
India Captain Rohit Sharma, star batter Virat Kohli, and seasoned all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja retired from T20Is in the aftermath of the final, which was their first ICC trophy success in 11 years and their first T20 world title since 2007.
Tharanga also added that regardless of which squad is sent to Sri Lanka, the T20 world champions will pose “a massive challenge” to their hosts, who are still reeling from their first-round exit from the T20 showpiece in the Americas last month.
They had previously crashed out in the first round of the Men’s ODI World Cup held in India last year, which encapsulated an all-time low for the island nation in two major ICC tournaments within the span of eight months.
The five-member selection panel also consists of former caps Dilruwan Perera, Indika de Saram, Tharanga Paranavitana, and Ajantha Mendis.
Fixtures
T20I series
- 1st T20I – 27 July, 7 p.m.
- 2nd T20I – 28 July, 7 p.m.
- 3rd T20I – 30 July, 7 p.m.
ODI series
- 1st ODI – 2 August, 2.30 p.m.
- 2nd ODI – 4 August, 2.30 p.m.
- 3rd ODI – 7 August, 2.30 p.m.
The venues are yet to be announced for both the ODI and T20I series.
India bosses over SL in short format cricket
Sri Lanka will go into their T20I series against India after beating the tourists 2-1 under Dasun Shanaka in the last bilateral series played between the two nations in Colombo three years ago.
This is despite the new world champions having dominated the majority of contests against the islanders in the overall win-loss ratio category.
In the ODI format, however, Sri Lanka have been found badly wanting against India and their last series triumph against their much-fancied opponents dates back to 1997.
This was when an Arjuna Ranatunga-led crack side whitewashed the tourists, then under Sachin Tendulkar, in a three-game series.
Since then, India have bossed the white ball version of the game against their close rivals, not to mention the total superiority they have displayed in Test cricket against the Lankans.(themorning)
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