Perera named SL captain ahead of Bangladesh ODI series

COLOMBO: Kusal Perera has been named Sri Lanka’s ODI captain ahead of their three-match series against Bangladesh.

Kusal Mendis, meanwhile, has been named as the 18-man squad’s vice-captain as regulars Dimuth Karunaratne, Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal were all dropped.

Sri Lanka have named a young squad for the series, which starts on May 23. Only three players in the team are aged more than 30 while 33-year-old Isuru Udana is the only aged over 31. “The team leaves for Bangladesh on the May 16, 2021 to take part in a 3-match ODI series,” said Sri Lanka Cricket.

The first match will be played in May 23 ater which the second match will be played on May 25. The third is scheduled to be played on May 28.

KARUNARATNE SACKED : Sri Lanka on Wednesday sacked one-day captain Karunaratne and dropped him and a host of other big names from the squad heading for Bangladesh.

Two other former skippers -- Mathews and Chandimal -- were also dropped along with Lakmal and Pradeep.

Karunaratne, a 33-year-old let-hand batsman, has played 34 ODI matches and scored 767 runs for Sri Lanka. Mathews had featured in 218 ODIS, scored 5,835 runs and claimed 120 wickets. Chandimal has scored 3,698 runs in 149 ODIS. Sri Lanka cricket did not say why the players had been dropped.

Meanwhile, India are to tour Sri Lanka for a short cricket series in July, but increasing Covid-19 cases in that country could worry Indian cricket board. The island nation recorded 2,568 cases on Tuesday.

According to official numbers announced in Colombo, the 2,568 cases recorded on Tuesday included 38 overseas returnees.

On May 10, the island recorded 2,624 cases and on May 9 the number was 2,672.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly had earlier said that India are set to travel to Sri Lanka in July for three ODIS and as many T20IS. Colombo’s R Premadasa Stadium is likely to host all six games of the series.

“We plan to host the entire series at one venue. As of now, it has been decided that the Premadasa Stadium will host the fixtures. Obviously, it depends on how the situation is around that time,” Arjuna de Silva, Sri Lanka Cricket’s (SLC) Administrative Commitee chairman, told Sportstar on Monday.