The captaincy was lost before, and this time there is no place in the squad for Dasun Shanaka. Sri Lanka has announced a 16-member squad for the One Day series against Afghanistan. Former captain Dasun Shanaka has not found a place in the squad. Additionally, Nuwanidu Fernando and Jeffrey Vandersay have also lost their places in the squad.
While three cricketers have been excluded, two have been brought back into the squad by Sri Lanka. Chamika Karunaratne and Shehan Daniel have been included in the squad. Among the three cricketers dropped from the Zimbabwe series squad, the big name is Shanaka. This former captain has been struggling with form for quite some time. Due to continuous failures, he has been dropped from the squad this time.
Since January 2023, Shanaka has only managed one fifty in his last 21 innings in the One Day format. With an average of just 12.25 with the bat, it’s hard to tell whether Shanaka is an all-rounder or a tailender. Shanaka led Sri Lanka in the World Cup previously. Due to injury, he had to step down and vice-captain Kusal Mendis was given the captaincy. After the World Cup, before the Zimbabwe series, Kusal was appointed as the captain for the One Day format, replacing Shanaka. Even in T20 captaincy, Shanaka was replaced by Wanindu Hasaranga.
Despite losing the captaincy, Shanaka found a place in the playing eleven for the first two One Day matches against Zimbabwe. However, after scoring 8 and 7 runs in those two matches, he was left out of the team for the third match. Instead of playing Shanaka in the Afghanistan series, another pace bowling all-rounder, Chamika Karunaratne, might be given a chance. Chamika played for Sri Lanka in the latest World Cup in the One Day format. Although not as powerful as Shanaka with the bat, Chamika’s bowling has been effective.
The rest of the spots in the squad are filled with familiar faces. Sri Lanka and Afghanistan will play the first match of the three-match One Day series tomorrow, 9th February. The match will be played at Pallekele Stadium at 3:00 PM local time. The remaining two matches of the series will start at the same time on 11th and 14th February at the same venue.
Sri Lanka’s One Day squad: Kusal Mendis (Captain), Charith Asalanka, Pathum Nissanka, Avishka Fernando, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Sahahan Arachchige, Shehan Daniel, Janith Liyanage, Chamika Karunaratne, Mahesh Thikshana, Dilshan Madushanka, Dushmantha Chameera, Dunith Wellalage, Promod Madushan, Akila Dananjaya, Wanindu Hasaranga.”
