Kusal Janith Perera is likely to be named as Sri Lanka Captain of both One Day Internationals (ODIs) and Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) for the upcoming tour of England.
The England tour, which starts on June 23, will include three ODIs and the same number of T20Is.
All-rounder Dasun Shanaka was a contender for the T20 leadership earlier, but he was not up to the expectations during the recent ODI series against Bangladesh, a reliable source of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) told the Daily News yesterday.
The sources also said that the National Selectors have picked a 28-member preliminary squad for the tour of England.
The 28-member preliminary squad is expected to be pruned down to 22 players by the end of the first week of June.
The National Selectors have named a few promising players who have performed well in the recent domestic competitions including Charith Asalanka, Kamil Mishara, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Dhananjaya Lakshan and Ishan Jayaratne.
Meanwhile, Avishka Fernando who missed the tours of West Indies and Bangladesh has been added to the squad after he passed the fitness test. However, the National Selectors have once again overlooked several senior players including Dimuth Karunaratne, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal and Suranga Lakmal.
Mathews of course, has made himself unavailable for selection until mid-June due to personal reasons and he has already informed the National Selectors.
The Sri Lanka preliminary squad: Kusal Perera (Captain), Danushka Gunathilaka, Pathum Nissanka, Avishka Fernando, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Oshada Fernando, Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Kamil Mishara, Niroshan Dickwella, Ashen Bandara, Dasun Shanaka, Chamika Karunaratne, Dhananjaya Lakshan, Wanindu Hasaranga, Ramesh Mendis, Lakshan Sandakan, Akila Dananjaya, Praveen Jayawickrama, Dushmantha Chameera, Isuru Udana, Binura Fernando, Nuwan Pradeep, Shiran Fernando, Kasun Rajitha, Asitha Fernando and Ishan Jayaratna.
(Daily News)
