Lahiru Thirimanne and Dasun Shanaka named captain for Pakistan tour
The Sri Lankan squad has been revealed that will be travelling to Pakistan to play in the limited overs series, with Lahiru Thirimanne and Dasun Shanaka as the stand-in skippers. Many experienced players have backed out citing security reasons which has led the country to name a youthful squad.
Sri Lanka is set to go on a proper tour of Pakistan after a decade, having refused to travel to the country after the fateful terrorist attack in 2009 left many players injured. However, some players are still concerned about their safety and after a security briefing with Sri Lanka cricket, as many as 10 of them made themselves unavailable for selection.
The list included a host of senior players as well as younger players, such as Niroshan Dickwella, Kusal Perera, Dhananjaya De Silva, Thisara Perera, Akila Dhananjaya, Angelo Mathews, Suranga Lakmal and Dinesh Chandimal, Moreover, ODI captain Dimuth Karunaratne as well as T20I skipper Lasith Malinga refused to play in the series.
Hence, the board has named a relatively inexperienced squad with a large number of young players getting an opportunity to taste international cricket. Lahiru Thirimanne has been named as the stand-in for Karunaratne. The 30-year-old has 125 caps to his name and has served as a captain in the past. As for the game’s shortest format, Dasun SHanka will be leading the Lions with a good 30 caps under his belt in T20s.
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