Sri Lanka have named their squad for the upcoming two-match Warne-Murali Test Series against Australia, starting from January 29th. The Lankan Lions have injury concerns in their camp but have named all three who have injury issues including the captain Dhananjaya de Silva.
Alongside Dhananjaya, Kamindu Mendis and Pathum Nissanka are also having injury issues with Nissanka being the least likely one to feature in the first Test among these three.
Nissanka picked up a groin strain during the third ODI against New Zealand earlier in the month. Dhananjaya is also nursing an injury after he was forced to retire hurt due to a side strain a couple of weeks ago during the ongoing Major Clubs 3-Day Tournament.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka have named two uncapped players Lahiru Udara and Sonal Dinusha in their squad. Dinusha comes into the squad on the back of a decent domestic performance. Opener Udara is also in the squad as a cover for Nissanka. He has also been in fine form.
This series is the last one of the World Test Championship 2023-25 with Australia and South Africa being the two finalists. There is an extreme outside chance of Aussies missing out. If they lose both games and suffer significant over-rate penalty point deduction, the Aussies might miss out on a spot in the final.
Australia will be without regular captain Pat Cummins for the series as he is out to nurse his ankle injury and also due to the birth of his child. Steve Smith is set to lead the team, having been cleared to join the squad in what earlier seemed a serious elbow injury.
After the completion of the tests, the two teams will also be locking horns in two ODIs in what will be a preparation for Australia for the Champions Trophy. Sri Lanka have failed to qualify for the eight-team event after finishing ninth in the ODI World Cup 2023 points table.
Sri Lanka Test Squad:
Dhananjaya de Silva (C), Dimuth Karunaratne, Pathum Nissanka, Oshada Fernando, Lahiru Udara, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Kamindu Mendis, Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Sonal Dinusha, Prabath Jayasuriya, Jeffrey Vandersay, Nishan Peiris, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Milan Rathnayake.
Sri Lanka vs Australia Fixtures:
1st Test, 29th January-2nd February 2025, Galle
2nd Test, 6th-10th February 2025, Galle
1st ODI, 12 February 2025, Galle
2nd ODI, 14 February 2025, TBC