SLC Names Squad For One-Off Test Vs AFG, Dhananjaya de Silva To Lead
Dhananjaya de Silva was appointed as SL Test captain in January 2024 (AP)
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has announced Sri Lanka’s 16-player squad for their upcoming one-off Test match against Afghanistan. Dhananjaya de Silva, after being appointed as Sri Lanka’s new Test skipper earlier in January, is set to lead his country for the first time in the format.
SLC announce Sri Lanka squad for one-off Test
On January 3, Sri Lankan Chief Selector Upul Tharanga confirmed that Dhananjaya de Silva will be replacing Dimuth Karunaratne as Sri Lanka’s Test captain. With Kusal Mendis being appointed as his deputy on the same day, Dhananjaya is set to assume his leadership role in Sri Lanka’s upcoming first Test match against the visiting Afghanistan team.
A couple of days prior to the Test match, Sri Lanka Cricket announced team’s 16-member squad, which features the likes of seasoned veterans Dinesh Chandimal and Angelo Mathews.
Sri Lanka’s squad for one-off Test vs Afghanistan:
Dhananjaya de Silva (c), Kusal Mendis (vc), Dimuth Karunaratne, Nishan Madushka, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Sadeera Samarawickrama (wk), Ramesh Mendis, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Kasun Rajitha, Kamindu Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Lahiru Udara, Chamika Gunasekara and Milan Rathnayake.
The one-off Test match between the two sides will offer free entry to fans, and it will commence from February 2 onwards and will be staged at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo.
The match will be followed by three ODIs and three T20I matches. While the ODI series will be entirely hosted by Kandy’s Pallekele International Cricket Stadium between February 9 and February 14; the T20I segment of the tour will be held between February 17 and February 21 at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium in Dambulla.
 "Aakash Saini")
