Four new players namely Ramesh Mendis, Dilshan Madushanka, Pathum Nissanka and Ashen Bandara have been included in the twenty-member Sri Lanka cricket squad for the tour of West Indies to compete in the T-20 and the limited over matches scheduled to commence from March 3 Two prolific batsmen Pathum Nisshanka from NCC, Ashen Bandara from Saracens Sports Club, left medium paceman Dilshan Madushanka from Colts Cricket Club and Ramesh Mendis the all-rounder from Moors Sports Club have been called as new caps in the 20-man squad for the Caribbean tour to play in the three T-20 and equal number of One day matches. The National selectors have opted to assign dashing all-rounder Dasun Shanaka as the skipper for the T-20 version of the game while Dimuth Karunaratne will remain as the limited over captain.
Nuwan Pradeep who was sidelined and later included for the England squad is also recalled for this squad. All-rounder Ramesh Mendis who made his test debut against England at Galle is also another player included in the squad. He is also drafted in as an all-rounder for the squad where he is capable of bowling right arm leg spinners while using the willow to score as and when it is needed. He has scored over 2400 runs while capturing 85 wickets in the domestic tournaments.
Four senior players Kusal Janith Perera, Avishka Fernando and Banuka Rajapaksa have been sidelined failing to keep up to the stipulated fitness levels conducted by the Sri Lanka Cricket, before making these players available for selection. Kusal Mendis was left out due to his poor form in the concluded series against South Africa and England.
The 23-year old Pathum Nissanka hails from Isipathana College, Colombo became the eighth player to represent the National team from his school. He made his debut for Hambantota District in 2017 while making his T-20 debut for Baudreliya Sports Club in 2017/18 season.
In January 2019, he was named in Sri Lanka ‘A’ squad for the series against the Ireland ‘A’. He was the leading run-scorer for Sri Lanka A with 258 runs in two matches. In 2019, he scored 1,000 runs in the 2018/19 Premier League Tournament playing for Nondescripts Cricket Club (NCC). He ended up as the highest scorer for them, with 1,088 runs in seven matches.
He was also named in Sri Lanka's squad for the 2019 ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup in Bangladesh. Later he was named in Sri Lanka's squad for the Men’s Cricket Tournaments at the SAG games. He has scored over 3000 runs with highest score of 217 runs with 13 centuries and equal number of half centuries to his credit so far in his domestic career.
Meanwhile, Ashen Bandara is 23 years of age and is a student of St. Aloysius’ College, Galle. He made his Twenty20 debut for Galle Cricket |Club in the 2015–16 at the Premier T20 Tournament in 2016. In December 2017, he was named in Sri Lanka's squad for the 2018 Under-19 Cricket World Cup. He made his first-class debut for Saracens Sports Club in the 2017–18 Premier League Tournament in 2018. . He was named in Sri Lanka's squad for the 2019 ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup in Bangladesh later was named in Sri Lanka's squad for the Men's Cricket Tournament at the 2019 South Asian Games. In 2020, he scored a century for Saracens Sports Club in the 2019–20 SLC Twenty20 Tournament later was drafted by the Dambulla Viiking for the inaugural edition of the Lanka Premier League. He has scored 1000 runs in the domestic cricket season with a highest individual score of 106 runs inclusive of one century and seven half centuries.
Dilshan Madushanka is 21-years old and schooled at Hungama Vijayabahu Central, Hungama. was named in Sri Lanka's squad for the under-19 Cricket World Cup in 2020 and claimed a five wicket haul in Sri Lanka's plate quarter-final match against Nigeria. He made his first class debut in 2020 for Colts CC in the Premier League Cricket tournament in the 2019/20 season. He was drafted by the Dambulla Vikings at the inaugural Lanka Premier League held last year, where he made his T-20 debut. He was named in Sri Lanka's Test squad for their series against the Proteas in early this year.
Fixtures:
03rd March, 2021 01st T20I CCG, Antigua
05th March, 2021 2nd T20I CCG, Antigua
07th March, 2021 3rd T20I CCG, Antigua
10th March, 2021 01st ODI SVRS, Antigua
12th March, 2021 02nd ODI SVRS, Antigua
14th March, 2021 03rd ODI (D/N) SVRS, Antigua
The Squad - Dasun Shanaka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Danushka Gunathilake, Dinesh Chandimal, Anjelo Mathews, Oshada Fernando, Niroshan Dickwella, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lahiru Kumara, Tissera Perera, Kamindu Mendis, Pathum Nissanka, Ramesh Mendis, Ashen Bandara, Akila Dhananjaya, Lakshan Sandakan, Nuwan Pradeep, Dushmantha Chameera, Asitha Fernando, Dilshan Madushanka.
