Sri Lanka Cricket has confirmed the team that will compete in the forthcoming International series of Australia T20Is, which will begin on June 7. Leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga and keeper-batsman Bhanuka Rajapaksa made a comeback to the team.
Both Hasaranga and Rajapaksa were unable to participate in the trip to India previously this year because of COVID and fitness concerns, respectively. It was previously said that the latter would be retiring from international cricket earlier this year, but they swiftly retracted their statement after having meetings with SLC.
Both of these sportsmen had extremely strong showings in the most recent edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Hasaranga was the 2nd-highest wicket-taker in the competition after finishing with 26 scalps for Royal Challengers Bangalore, which placed him in 2nd place overall.
His performance was crucial to RCB’s success, as it helped them qualify for the playoffs for the 3rd season in a row. On the other side, Rajapaksa, a left-handed batsman for Sri Lanka, amassed 206 runs over the course of 9 innings, averaging 22.88 runs per innings.
In February, Hasaranga competed for Sri Lanka versus Australia, wherein he took 5 wickets in 2 games. However, he was not given the chance to play versus India in the subsequent series. Dinesh Chandimal has been replaced by Rajapaksa because of his lackluster performance in the prior series against Australia and India this year.
Chandimal is not the only player who has been removed from the team; Dhananjaya de Silva and Lahiru Kumara were also benched. Niroshan Dickwella and Jeffrey Vandersay are two instances of the players who have been selected to serve as stand-by men for the series.
After playing his last game in the 2021 Men’s T20 World Cup in the UAE against the West Indies, Rajapaksa is making a return in Twenty20 Internationals. After a standout performance in the Indian T20 League for Chennai Super Kings earlier this year, Under-19 speed prodigy Matheesha Pathirana was given his first call-up to the national team for this series.
When the tour comes to a close on July 12, Sri Lanka and Australia T20Is will have played each other in a total of 5 ODIs and 2 Tests.
