Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) have announced Sri Lanka’s squad for the three-ODI series starting December 10. Sri Lanka are on a humiliating losing streak in ODI cricket. They have lost 12 ODIs on the trot in 2017 including 2 against Zimbabwe, 5 against India and 5 against Pakistan. Out of 26 ODIs, they have managed to win only 4 games, lost 21 and one with no result.
That’s why the Sri Lankan board felt a need for change. Senior players Dinesh Chandimal and Lasith Malinga have been excluded from the side. Chandimal has not been in best of the forms in the limited overs circuit. Malinga too has struggled with his form; even in Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) 2017, Malinga barely performed as he could take only 4 wickets in 6 games.
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The team, to be led by Thisara Perera, has been ratified by Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekera after an initial confusion that led to stopping of nine players departing for India.
Earlier, Sri Lanka Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekera prevented the national ODI squad from leaving the country for not getting his approval before selecting the team.
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The minister had forced nine cricketers of the squad to disembark a flight to India on Monday, December 4 night.
The three ODIs will be played in Dharamsala (December 10), Mohali (December 13) and Visakhapatnam (December 17).
Sri Lanka ODI squad:
Thisara Perera(c), Upul Tharanga, Danushka Gunathilaka, Lahiru Thirimanne, Angelo Mathews, Asela Gunaratne, Niroshan Dickwella, Chaturanga de Silva, Akila Dananjaya, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dushmantha Chameera, Sachith Pathirana, Kusal Perera
