Colombo(EMS). Sri Lanka have included two young players in their squad for the World Cup qualifiers. Sri Lanka have announced a 15-man squad for the upcoming ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier tournament in Zimbabwe, with a surprise inclusion in the list. Mathisha Pathirana, better known as Junior Malinga, who helped Chennai Super Kings win the title by taking 19 wickets in the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, has also been named in the squad. His recent performance saw him take a single wicket and concede 66 runs on his ODI debut against Afghanistan earlier this month. The main reason for the comparison of Pathirana with the legendary Lasith Malinga is the similarity in the bowling style of both the players. He will now be part of the Sri Lankan team, which is one of the favorites to grab one of the two c spots in the tournament.
Pathirana is not the only new face in Sri Lanka’s squad, 29-year-old Dushan Hemantha has also been picked after playing just one ODI in his career. After two new faces made it to the team, there was no space left for the experienced Angelo Mathews. The CWC Qualifiers will begin on June 18 with 10 teams competing for the last two spots in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup to be held in India later this year. Sri Lanka’s 15-man squad: Dasun Shanaka (captain), Kusal Mendis (vice-captain and wicketkeeper), Dimuth Karunaratne, Pathum Nissanka, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjay de Silva, Sadira Samarawickrama (wicketkeeper), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamak Karunaratne, Dushmantha Chameera, Kasun Rajitha , Lahiru Kumara, Mahesh Theekshana, Matisha Pathirana, Dushan Hemantha Shaw.
Source: dainikbhaskarup.com
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