The forthcoming one-off test match between Sri Lanka and Afghanistan is scheduled to take place in Colombo on February 2. Sri Lanka has selected three players who have not yet been capped for the match. After taking over for Dimuth Karunaratne as the full-time Test captain, Dhananjaya de Silva will be experiencing his maiden assignment in this role.
Lahiru Udara, who is both a wicketkeeper and a batter, Chamika Gunasekara, who bowls fast, and Milan Rathnayake, who bowls fast, are the three players who have not yet been officially capped for the tournament. In contrast to Udara and Gunasekara, who have both participated in Twenty20 Internationals and One-Day Internationals for the national team in the past, Rathnayake has not yet been seen in any version of the game.
Pathum Nissanka, Lakshitha Mansinghe, and Praveen Jayawickrama were not included in the team that was chosen for their previous Test assignment against Pakistan in the previous year. This decision was made by the selection committee. Despite making a comeback to the squad, Nissanka was not given the opportunity to participate in the series against Pakistan that took place the previous year. Due to the fact that the pacer is now competing in the ILT20, Dilshan Madushanka, who made his debut in that series, has not been considered either.
It is the very first time that these two teams have ever competed against each other in a test match.
Squad: Dhananjaya de Silva (C), Kusal Mendis (VC), Dimuth Karunaratne, Nishan Madushka, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Ramesh Mendis, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Kasun Rajitha, Kamindu Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Lahiru Udara, Chamika Gunasekara, Milan Rathnayake
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