Sri Lanka have announced their Test squad for the two-match series against New Zealand. Oshada Fernando has returned to the Test side for the first time since March 2023, having played against the same opposition, New Zealand, 18 months ago. Fernando has replaced Nishan Madushka in the 16-man squad for the Test series in Galle.
Fernando returned with scores of 122 and 80 for Sri Lanka A against South Africa A and hence has been recalled to the side. Kasun Rajitha and Nisala Tharaka have been axed from the squad that played the England series while 13 players have been retained.
Sri Lanka have added a couple of more spinners for the assignment, understandably, given the change in the conditions from the UK and since they are coming off winning at the Oval and avoiding a sweep, the islanders will be slightly confident of a better show in familiar conditions against a side, which hasn't travelled well.
New Zealand are on a long tour of Asia having been to India for the one-off Test against Afghanistan. The Kiwis will be playing a couple of Tests against Sri Lanka and then will return to India for a three-match series in October-November.
Sri Lanka are in fifth position on the World Test Championship (WTC) points table with a PCT of 42.86 while New Zealand are in third with a 50.00 PCT. New Zealand have a long Test season ahead as they play Sri Lanka and India away, followed by England at home. These five Tests will all but decide their fate in the ongoing WTC cycle.
Sri Lanka squad for New Zealand Test series: Dhananjaya De Silva (captain), Dimuth Karunaratne, Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Kamindu Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Oshada Fernando, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Prabath Jayasuriya, Ramesh Mendis, Jeffrey Vandersay, Milan Rathnayake
