Sri Lanka Cricket Team
Sri Lanka Cricket Team Credits: Twitter

The Sri Lanka Cricket Board has announced the squad for the test series against Ireland. Both Test matches between Sri Lanka and Ireland will be held at the Galle International Cricket Stadium, with the first match starting on April 16 and the second on April 24.

Sri Lanka has added  Sadeera Samarawickrama to their squad, who will be making a comeback after a six-year absence from the team. He played his last Test in 2017 and could be seen doing the wicket-keeping duty in place of Niroshan Dickwella is not picked for the upcoming series.

Sri Lanka has solid experience in batting with the likes of Angelo Mathews, Kusar Mendis, and Dinesh Chandimal forming the backbone of the line-up. Dimuth Karunaratne will spearhead the side at the top of the order.

Embuldeniya made a return to the test side as he last played a Test in July 2022 in Galle during Australia’s tour of the Island. Kasun Rajitha & Lahiru Kumara rested  for the Tests against Ireland.

The 28-year-old leg-spinning all-rounder Dushan Hemantha who impressed the selectors during the recently concluded England Lions tour of Sri Lanka with his brilliant bowling performances, has earned his maiden national call-up. Hemanth has played 44 first-class matches where he managed to score 1993 runs at 31.63 while picking up 98 wickets.

Sri Lanka Test squad: Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Dhananjaya De Silva, Kamindu Mendis, Nishan Madushka (wk), Sadeera Samarawickrama (wk), Ramesh Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Dushan Hemantha, Lasith Embuldeniya, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Milan Rathnayake.

Sri Lanka Team Will Look To Prepare Well for Next World Test Championship Cycle

The series is not part of the WTC cycle but will complete Sri Lanka’s scheduled games in that period. Ireland will play their first match at Galle International Stadium in Galle as they will be up against a full-strength strong Sri Lanka side and beating them at their fortress will be a tough ask for the visiting side.

Though the visit of Ireland will not be a part of the World Test Championship, it will provide Sri Lanka with some excellent practice ahead of the next World Test Championship cycle. Sri Lanka will play only 5 test matches in 2023 and will look to make the most of it against Ireland. On the other hand, Ireland will look to prove their worth in longer formats of the game in the Sub-continent conditions.