Chathura leads team for Tri Nation series

Chris DHAMBARAGE

Dynamic All rounder Chathura Peiris of St. Peter’s College has been retained as the captain of the Sri Lanka Under 19 team for the up coming under 19 Tri Nation limited over series.

The tournament has been organised by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) in preparation for the International Cricket Council Youth World Cup which will be staged in New Zealand in February next year.

The Sri Lanka under 19 team will join Pakistan under 19 and Bangladesh under 19 in this tournament from November 29 to December 8 with matches to be worked off in Pallekelle, Dambulla, Moratuwa and Colombo.

In fact Pakistan will take on Bangladesh in the curtain raiser match of the tournament on November 29 at the newly constructed Pallekelle Stadium in Kandy. The Sri Lanka under 19 team under the captaincy of Chatura Peiris had the credit of defeating Australia 3-2 in their recent one day series.

The Tri Nation Under 19 series has been spread to rural districts as per the directive of Chairman of Sri Lanka Cricket D. Somachandra De Silva and his Committee in their attempt to ensure that international cricket reached every corner in the Island.

Apart from the Pallekelle stadium in Kandy, the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium will also host three games with one match scheduled to be played at the De Soysa Stadium in Moratuwa. The three teams will play each other twice and the two top teams will clash in the final which will be worked off on December 8 at the P. Saravanamuttu Oval.

The Sri Lanka Under 19 team: Chathura Peiris (St. Peters College - captain), Banuka Rajapakshe (Royal - vice captain), Udara Jayasundara (Ananda), Nipun Karunanayake (Nalanda), Kithruwan Vithanage (Royal), Romesh Buddhika (Mahinda), Adisha Nanayakkara (Nalanda), Danushka Gunathilaka (Mahanama), Charith Jayampathi (D. S. Senanayake), Saranga Rajaguru (Nugawela Central), Maduka Liyanapathirana (Lumbini), Andre Berenger (St. Peter’s), Yasodha Lanka (Richmond), Samitha De Mel (St. Sebastian’s), Rushan Jalleel (Trinity), Akila Jayasundara (Trinity).

The Pakistan U-19 Squad: Azeem Ghumman (Captain), Baber Azam, Ahmed Shahzad, Hammad Azam, Muzamil Nizam, Mehran Ibrahim, Mohammad Owais, Usman Qadir, Raza Hassan, Junaid Ilyas, Abdur Ameer, Kaleem Sana, Fayyaz Butt, Maroof Aziz, Sarmad Bhatti, Shafqat Rana (Manager).

The Bangladesh U-19 Squad: Mahmudul Hasan (Captain), Amit Majumder (vice captain), Saikat Ali, Sumaya Sharkar, Tasamul Haque, Sabbir Rahman, Mominul Haque, Abul Hasan, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Arman Badshah, Alauddin Babu, Shaker Ahmed, Nur Hossain, Anamul Haque, Nurul Hasan, Sazzad Ahmed (Manager).

The itinerary:

November 29: Pakistan v Bangladesh at Pellekelle

November 30: Sri Lanka v Bangladesh at Dambulla

December 2: Sri Lanka v Pakistan at Dambulla

December 3: Pakistan v Bangladesh at Dambulla

December 5: Sri Lanka v Pakistan at Moratuwa

December 6: Sri Lanka v Bangladesh at P. Saravanamuttu Oval

December 8: Final at P. Saravanamuttu Oval