Sri Lanka Cricket gets new selectors ahead of Pakistan series

Courtesy: Reuters

New Delhi: After days of inaction, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) finally named a new five-member selection panel led by former Test seamer Graeme Labrooy on Tuesday. Asanka Gurusinha, Gamini Wickremasinghe, Jeryl Woutersz and Sajith Fernando are other members of the panel.

Gurusinha and Wickremasinghe are former Test players, Woutersz and Fernando have played first-class cricket.

The previous selection panel, headed by former captain Sanath Jayasuriya, resigned following a string of defeats, including a tour whitewash by India. In that series, India blanked Lanka 9-0, 3-0 in Test, 5-0 in ODIs and 1-0 in T20I. Before that the Lankans tasted defeats against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.

The new panel will have their first team selection for the upcoming series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates. The two-match Test series will start on September 28 and is due to end on October 10, with one of the games slated to A day-and-night affair.

Sri Lanka will also play five one-day internationals and two Twenty20 matches in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah as part of the tour. But a T20 match is likely to played in in Lahore, Pakistan which is subject to security clearance.

Last month, Sri Lanka's cricket board approved a tour to Pakistan, eight years after a deadly militant attack against the team brought top international games there to a standstill.

Here is the provisional squad: Dinesh Chandimal, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kaushal Silva, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Lahiru Thirimanne, Niroshan Dickwella, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Rangana Herath, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep, Lakshan Sandakan, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Jeffrey Vandersay, Milinda Siriwardana, Roshen Silva, Akila Dananjaya, Charith Asalanka, Shaminda Eranga and Dhammika Prasad.