Sri Lanka legspinner Wanindu Hasaranga and wicketkeeper-batsman Bhanuka Rajapaksa have returned to Sri Lanka’s T20I squad for the upcoming three-match series against Australia at home from June 7.
Missed T20Is due to covid:-
Hasaranga was initially selected for the tour of India earlier this year – his last international assignment – but missed the T20Is due to Covid, while Rajapaksa was dropped due to fitness concerns.
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However, the duo comes back with a strong IPL performance in tow. Hasaranga, who missed out on just one wicket from the Purple Cap, ended the first season of the IPL with Royal Challengers Bangalore with a breakout of 26 scalps.
He last played for Sri Lanka in February in his tour Down Under and took five wickets in two matches before missing out on the India tour.
Dropped after normal return to white-ball tour:-
Rajapaksa, meanwhile, is included in the squad in place of veteran wicketkeeper Dinesh Chandimal, who has been dropped after returning to normal on successive white-ball tours of Australia and India.
He scored only 61 runs in four T20Is in Australia before being dropped for the final game, and in India, he scored 41 runs in three innings with a best of 22.
Along with Chandimal, Dhananjay de Silva and Lahiru Kumara have also been dropped, while the pair of Niroshan Dickwella and leggy Jeffrey Vandersay will be picking as stand-by players for the series.
Despite losing his place in the XI when Jonny Bairstow came in, Rajapaksa scored 209 runs in nine matches for PBKS at a strike rate of less than 160, often trickling in important cameos on a drop.
Won by 20 runs against two-time champions:-
His last appearance for Sri Lanka in the shortest format was in the 2021 Men’s T20 World Cup against the West Indies in the United Arab Emirates. Which they won by 20 runs against the two-time champions.
Sri Lanka has picked 19-year-old pacer Mathisha Pathirana, who recently received a lot of praise from MS Dhoni in the IPL.
Pathirana, who was impressing in the Under-19 World Cup, and Lasith Malinga have a similar sling bowling action.
Adam Milne was picking up by CSK as his replacement. The right-arm pacer was featuring in two appearances for the team. And will already be naming as a key bowler for the next season.
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T20I squad: 1. Dasun Shanaka (Captain), 2. Pathum Nisanka, 3. Danushka Gunathilaka, 4. Kusal Mendis, 5. Charit Aslanka, 6. Bhanuka Rajapakse, 7. Nuwanidu Fernando, 8. Lahiru Madushanka, 9. Vanindu Hasaranga, 10. Chamika Karunaratne, 11. Dushmantha Chamira, 12. Kasunwan Tushara, 13. Nuwana Rajitha, 14. Mahesh Dikshana, 15. Praveen Jayavikrama, 16. Lakshan Sandakani.
