Sri Lanka T20I Squad vs India: Charith Asalanka Named Captain; Dinesh Chandimal Returns

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Chairith Asalanka has been appointed the captain as Sri Lanka on Tuesday (July 23) announced their T20I squad for the upcoming three-match series against India, scheduled to start later this week.

Asalanka takes over the reins from Wanindu Hasaranga, who stepped down from the role following Sri Lanka's disappointing showing in last month's T20 World Cup 2024, which ended in an early group stage exit.

While Asalanka was named the new captain of the T20I side, Angelo Mathews was among four players dropped from the team on the aftermath of the T20 World Cup in USA and the Caribbean. Dhananjaya de Silva, Sadeera Samarawickrama and Dilshan Madushanka were the the other players who faced the axe.

Replacing the quartet for the series starting on Saturday (July 27), were senior star Dinesh Chandimal, Avishka Fernando and Kusal Janith Perera, who have been handed a return to the side following a good Lanka Premier League.

Fernandofinished the recently concluded LPL 2024 as the highest run-scorer for Sri Lankan with 374 runs from 10 innings including five half-centuries. Perera also scored 296 runs in 8 innings, while Chandimal amassed 287 runs in 10 innings.

Uncapped batter Chamindu Wickramasinghe was also named in the squad. The 21-year-old also had a decent outing in LPL, scoring 186 runs in 6 innings. Overall, the young batter has scored 282 runs in 25 T20s including two fifties, striking at 112.79.

Apart from those changes, the rest of the squad looks familiar with skipper Asalanka, Wickramasinghe, Pathum Nissanka and Avishka being the specialist batters, while Chandimal, Kusal Mendis and Perera will be the wicketkeeping options.

Kamindu Mendis, Dasun Shanaka, Hasaranga and Dunith Wellalage are the all-rounders in the side, while the bowling attack will consist of speedsters Dushmanta Chameera, Nuwan Thusara and Matheesha Pathirana.

Maheesh Theekshana will be the specialist spinner in the side. The three-match series starts with the opener on Saturday (July 27) followed by the second and third T20I on Sunday (July 28) and Tuesday (July 30) respectively.

All three matches will be staged at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy, Sri Lanka before action shifts to Colombo for the three-match ODI series. Here is a look at the Sri Lankan squad for the T20I series:

Sri Lanka T20I squad vs India

Charith Asalanka (captain), Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Perera (wicketkeeper), Avishka Fernando, Kusal Mendis (wicketkeeper), Dinesh Chandimal (wicketkeeper), Kamindu Mendis, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Chamindu Wickramasinghe, Matheesha Pathirana, Nuwan Thushara, Dushmantha Chameera.