Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka Cricket has officially confirmed that the postponed third edition of the Lanka Premier League will run from December 6 to 23 – roughly the same window it occupied last year. In August, LPL tournament organiser Samantha Dodanwela had confirmed the start date, but now the duration of the tournament is also set in

New Zealand, Bangladesh and Pakistan have just got done playing a tri-series, Australia and England have been in action against each other, and South Africa have recently wound down a series in India. Sri Lanka, though, have been somewhat idle since their men’s Asia Cup win more than a month ago. The Asia Cup win,

Roughly around this time last year, Dasun Shanaka was gallantly bigging up his side’s chances at the T20 World Cup – though, in reality, it was a sentiment borne more out of hope than any real confidence. “If our guys perform to their strengths I feel they can go a long way in this tournament,”

Melbourne Renegades have made a shock signing by adding uncapped Melbourne-based Sri Lanka legspinner Ruwantha Kellapotha to their BBL squad as an overseas replacement player for the upcoming season. Kellapotha, 31, played 20 first-class matches and 12 List A matches in Sri Lanka between 2010 and 2013 before moving to Australia to live. He played

Sri Lanka have made three changes to the side that travelled to Birmingham for the Commonwealth Games in July-August, as they named their 15-member squad for next month’s Asia Cup. Twenty-year-old Nuthyangana, who will deputise for Anushka Sanjeewani behind the stumps, has been earmarked as a talent for the future, as has 21-year-old Sewwandi who

Sri Lanka Cricket has terminated Tom Moody‘s contract as its director of cricket 19 months into a three-year arrangement. The decision has been described by the board as “amicable”, and SLC is understood to be open to the idea of bringing Moody, who has also coach the Sri Lanka men’s team in the past, back

Sri Lanka have shown faith with the group of players that won the Asia Cup, with the inclusions of fast bowlers Dushmantha Chameera and Lahiru Kumara – who missed that tournament due to injury – the only change, as they named their 15-man squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia. From the squad

Sri Lanka’s white-ball captain Dasun Shanaka refused to take the credit for the side’s Asia Cup triumph, and instead heaped praise on his players for making his job easy. “When Wanindu goes and gives some advice to a younger player, a lot of the time it’s useful. Similarly, we always consult the players before taking

The economic crisis has formed the backdrop for much of Sri Lanka’s Asia Cup campaign. But their brand of cricket and some landmark wins – like the ODI series triumph over Australia at home and now the Asia Cup title – have come as a balm. On Sunday, in fact, the Sri Lanka women’s team

Big picture One bad result is all it takes to leave a team staring at possible elimination from the Asia Cup. Pakistan faced – and overcame – that challenge after losing to India in the group stages. And now it’s India who are in a precarious position after losing to Pakistan in the Super 4

Pakistan and Afghanistan, two teams who are very familiar with the conditions in UAE, will be up against each other for the first time in the Asia Cup, on Wednesday, and only the third time in T20Is. Though Pakistan have a perfect record against Afghanistan – having won both the matches in 2013 and 2019

Sri Lanka 174 for 4 (Mendis 57, Nissanka 52, Chahal 3-34) beat India 173 for 8 (Rohit 72, Madushanka 3-24) by six wickets Sri Lanka all but secured a place in the Asia Cup final through a thrilling win with one ball to spare against India, who came close again but couldn’t beat the Dubai

Sri Lanka 179 for 6 (Mendis 36, Nissanka 35, Gunathilaka 33, Rajapaksa 31, Mujeeb 2-30, Naveen 2-40) beat Afghanistan 175 for 6 (Gurbaz 84, Ibrahim 40, Madushanka 2-37) by 4 wickets Last Saturday, Sri Lanka were all out for 105 against Afghanistan. Just seven days later, though, the very same batters put in a strong

Big picture Sri Lanka can breathe easy. Or can they? Having been blown away by Afghanistan and then having to use every ounce of firepower to get past Bangladesh, they will once again face a trial by spin. Against the Rashids and the Mujeebs. However, the current Afghanistan team is beginning to establish a new

Today’s match will decide which of the two teams proceed to the Super 4s from Group B, alongside Afghanistan, who have already beaten both. Sri Lanka lost to Afghanistan to kick off the tournament, bowled out for 105 before Afghanistan chased down the target with eight wickets and 59 balls to spare. In the aftermath

Sri Lanka were 5 for 3 in two overs – albeit with a strange caught-behind decision thrown into the mix – and never quite recovered. Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Danushka Gunathilaka did add 44 for the fourth wicket, but they crashed to 105. The swing Fazalhaq Farooqi got was the big problem, Shanaka said. Kusal Mendis

Toss Afghanistan chose to bowl vs Sri Lanka Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi said he wanted his team to take advantage of a fresh pitch. (Seamers Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naveen-ul-Haq would do just that, taking three wickets in the first two overs.) In general, Afghanistan went with an XI with plenty of bowling options. In addition

Big picture It’s a very 2022 thing to say, but it’s possible that Sri Lanka and Afghanistan are pretty evenly matched sides. Hear me out. Of the two sides, Afghanistan tend to play weaker teams, of course, but since 2020, they have won a T20I series against Ireland, won two against Zimbabwe, and drawn one

You have a supremely-talented batter who isn’t the modern-day definition of fit – so what do you do as coach? It’s possible that Chris Silverwood has pondered the Bhanuka Rajapaksa question a few times. But four months since becoming Sri Lanka’s coach, Silverwood doesn’t have to worry about the issue anymore, and for that Rajapaksa

A calf strain has put Dushmantha Chameera, Sri Lanka’s premier short-format quick, out of the Asia Cup. A member of the Sri Lanka team management told ESPNcricinfo that Chameera picked up the injury “three-or-four days ago” and will not recover in time for the Asia Cup. A doctor working with the team confirmed to ESPNcricinfo

Chandimal was part of the T20 squad that toured Australia and India earlier this year, but was then dropped for the T20Is at home against Australia in June. He returns for the Asia Cup largely on the back on strong performances in Test cricket against Australia and Pakistan. Left-arm wristspinner Lakshan Sandakan, fast bowler Nuwan

The Lanka Premier League has been officially rescheduled to take place in December 2022. The third season of the LPL was initially slated to be held in August, but the economic crisis engulfing the country had forced a postponement last month. “It’s my pleasure to announce that the LPL will be held from 6th to

Wanindu Hasaranga has been denied a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) to play in the Hundred by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and has been forced to pull out of his £100,000 contract with Manchester Originals as a result. Ashley de Silva, SLC’s chief executive, told ESPNcricinfo that the board turned down his request because they want him

Difficulties procuring insurance, as well as logistical and security concerns, were some of the issues raised by sponsors and broadcasters that led to the Asia Cup being shifted from Sri Lanka to the United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka Cricket has revealed. “They felt that the situation in Sri Lanka was not conducive to garner the

A little over three weeks ago, Prabath Jayasuriya was not in the Sri Lanka squad, let alone the XI. But when Lasith Embuldeniya was dropped following a poor Test against Australia, and Praveen Jayawickrama got Covid-19, Sri Lanka needed fresh spinners in the camp, and captain Dimuth Karunaratne insisted on Jayasuriya. The two had played

In the Karachi Test in March earlier this year, Pakistan had been set a target of 506 for victory. Against an Australian attack featuring the likes of Nathan Lyon, Pat Cummins, and Mitchell Starc, Pakistan hadn’t been too far from achieving that total, finishing with 443 for 7 on the final day as the game

Theekshana, the SLC revealed, had suffered an injury to one of his fingers on his right hand – his bowling hand – during the first Test against Pakistan, which Sri Lanka lost by four wickets. He had only made his Test debut in the second Test against Australia earlier this month, having been drafted into

Uncapped legspinner Rashmi Silva has been named in Sri Lanka’s 15-member squad for the Commonwealth Games which is scheduled to start later this month. Silva made her ODI debut in the home series against India earlier this month and is uncapped in T20Is, which is the format for the competition to be held in Birmingham.

The 2022 Lanka Premier League, which had been slated to begin in two weeks, has been postponed, because of the economic situation in Sri Lanka. A draft had been held, foreign players supposedly secured, and preparations were underway for the tournament to be held. However, problems with securing adequate sponsorship and cooling franchise interest have

Lunch Pakistan 104 for 7 (Babar 34*, Jayasuriya 5-41) trail Sri Lanka 222 by 118 runs Prabath Jayasuriya terrorised Pakistan’s middle order on the second morning in Galle, claiming four wickets for 39 runs, as he bowled unchanged from the fort end. By lunch, Pakistan were in disarray. They still had a watchful Babar Azam