Sri Lankan cricket selectors included six fast bowlers and three uncapped players in a 16-man squad announced on Friday for the upcoming tour of South Africa.
All-rounder Hasantha Fernando and fast bowlers Thilina Thushara and Tharanga Lakshitha, who are yet to appear in tests, were the new caps for the two-month tour that starts on October 20.
The selectors made four changes from the squad that finished joint champions with India in the recently concluded limited-overs ICC Champions Trophy in Colombo.
Bowlers Pulasthi Gunaratne, Kumar Dharmasena and batsmen Aravinda de Silva — who this week announced his retirement from test cricket — and Tillekeratne Dilshan were left out of the squad.
Those places were filled by fast bowlers Chamila Gamage, Sujeewa de Silva, Thushara, Lakshitha and batsman Jehan Mubarak, with selectors keeping in mind possible combinations for next year’s limited-overs World Cup in South Africa.
Gamage and Sujeewa de Silva, who impressed against Bangladesh, and newcomers Thushara and Lakshitha, both 20, will join the experienced Chaminda Vaas and Dilhara Fernando in forming a six-prong pace attack which is expected to suit South African pitches.
Thushara, a left-arm fast bowler, is rated the quickest in the country. Hasantha Fernando, who can also bowl medium-pace, has been included as an all-rounder.
Off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan is the solitary spinner in the squad, picked specifically for the two tests scheduled at Johannesburg (November 8-12) and at Centurion (November 15-19).
Prasanna Jayawardene returns to keep wickets for the tests series. So does middle-order batsman Hashan Tillakaratne.
The rest of the batting remains the same, with Sanath Jayasuriya and Marvan Atapattu retaining their positions as captain and Vice-captain respectively.
Sri Lanka: Sanath Jayasuriya (Captain), Marvan Atapattu, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Russell Arnold, Hashan Tillakaratne, Jehan Mubarak, Hasantha Fernando, Chaminda Vaas, Dilhara Fernando, Sujeewa de Silva, Chamila Gamage, Thilina Thushara, Tharanga Lakshitha, Muttiah Muralitharan, Prasanna Jayawardene. – Sapa-AP