Sri Lanka announces 15-member squad for 2019 ICC World Cup

Captain Dimuth Karunaratne had last played an ODI in March of 2015 while veteran Dinesh Chandimal has been left out.

Photo: Twitter/@OfficialSLC

Colombo: Sri Lanka on Thursday announced a 15-member squad for the upcoming 2019 ICC World Cup. The team will be led by Dimuth Karunaratne who last played an ODI in March of 2015 in the previous edition of the World Cup.

While Karunaratne's selection as the captain had already been announced - raising quite a few eyebrows, the country's World Cup squad features a number of skilled pacers led by Lasith Malinga. Providing him support would be Isuru Udana who showcased his skills with the bat and ball in a recent tour to South Africa. Thisara Perera has also been named in the squad.

Interestingly, Dinesh Chandimal's name was doing the rounds in the past few days but he has been left out from the squad announced on Thursday. Many felt that while Chandimal's recent form has not been much to write about, his experience could have helped the side.

Sri Lanka has won the World Cup only once - back in 1996. In the previous edition of the tournament, the team lost to South Africa in the quarterfinal stage after a shabby display with the bat.

This year, Sri Lanka will kickstart its campaign in England with its first match scheduled against New Zealand on June 1. The tournament begins from May 30 when England take on South Africa.

(Full squad of: India | Bangladesh | England)

Full Squad: Dimuth Karunaratne (captain), Avishka Fernando, Lahiru Thirimanne, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dhanajaya de Silva, Jeffrey Vandersay, Thisara Perera, Lasith Malinga, Isuru Udana, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep, Jeevan Mendis, Milinda Siriwardana