Sri Lanka hand white-ball captaincy to Kusal Mendis for West Indies tour

Sri Lanka Cricket has made major changes ahead of next month’s tour of the West Indies, with the newly appointed selection panel handing Kusal Mendis the captaincy in both ODIs and T20Is. However, Dhananjaya de Silva will continue to lead the Test side.

Kusal Mendis takes over the ODI captaincy from Charith Asalanka. Earlier, Asalanka had already been removed from the T20I captaincy before the T20 World Cup. In T20Is, Kusal replaces Dasun Shanaka, who served as interim captain during the World Cup period. Shanaka, however, has retained his place in the T20I squad. Kamindu Mendis has been named vice-captain across all formats.

Wanindu Hasaranga has returned to the squad after recovering from injury. He had been sidelined since February after suffering a hamstring injury during the T20 World Cup. The injury also ruled him out of the IPL, where he was set to play for Lucknow Super Giants. However, fast bowler Matheesha Pathirana has been left out after sustaining a hamstring injury while playing a match for Kolkata Knight Riders.

Nuwan Thushara has earned a place in the T20I squad. Sri Lanka’s pace attack will feature three bowlers capable of clocking over 140kph — Dushmantha Chameera, Dilshan Madushanka and Eshan Malinga. Milan Rathnayake has been included in both white-ball squads.

Among the new faces, opener Lasith Croospulle has attracted the most attention. He earned a call-up to the T20I side after scoring 103 off 76 balls against New Zealand A in April. Although he previously represented Sri Lanka at the Asian Games, this will be his first major international tour.

In the Test squad, batter Pasindu Sooriyabandara and 29-year-old all-rounder Isitha Wijesundara have received their first call-ups for a major tour. Off-spin all-rounder Ramesh Mendis has also returned to the side. Sri Lanka are set to play their first Test in nearly a year, having last featured against Bangladesh in June last year.

The tour will begin with a three-match ODI series from June 3 to 8, followed by three T20Is on June 11, 13 and 14. The two Tests will be played at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound from June 25-29 and July 3-7.

Sri Lanka Test squad

Dhananjaya de Silva (captain), Kamindu Mendis, Pathum Nissanka, Lahiru Udara, Nishan Madushka, Dinesh Chandimal, Pasindu Sooriyabandara, Sonal Dinusha, Kusal Mendis, Milan Rathnayake, Prabath Jayasuriya, Ramesh Mendis, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Isitha Wijesundara, Kasun Rajitha.

Sri Lanka ODI squad

Kusal Mendis (captain), Kamindu Mendis (vice-captain), Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Pavan Rathnayake, Janith Liyanage, Charith Asalanka, Milan Rathnayake, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Dilshan Madushanka, Eshan Malinga, Asitha Fernando, Pramod Madushan.

Sri Lanka T20I squad

Kusal Mendis (captain), Kamindu Mendis (vice-captain), Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Pavan Rathnayake, Lasith Croospulle, Dasun Shanaka, Milan Rathnayake, Dunith Wellalage, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Dilshan Madushanka, Eshan Malinga, Binura Fernando, Nuwan Thushara.