Sri Lanka

A fast bowler who has 25 Test wickets at 22.68 for the year (Lahiru Kumara), a left-arm swing bowler who averages 24.12 in South Africa (Vishwa Fernando), a skiddy right-arm quick with 68 career wickets at 25.97 (Asitha Fernando), and more good options on the bench. Sri Lanka have likely had better quicks than they

Comebacks can happen. Sri Lanka have proved that already this year, when having lost a Test at Lord’s by 190 runs, they surged back at The Oval to win by eight wickets. This, at least, is what Sri Lanka are trying to believe, having lost their first Test in South Africa by 233 runs. They

Wiaan Mulder will not bowl or field for the rest of the Durban Test against Sri Lanka after fracturing his right middle finger while batting in the first innings. A decision on whether he will bat will be made as the match continues. Mulder suffered the injury on the first ball of the 27th over,

Left-arm spinner Lasith Embuldeniya has been named in Sri Lanka’s squad for the two Tests in South Africa, more than two years after he last played a Test. Offspinner Nishan Peiris, who made his Test debut against New Zealand in September, has also been included. Ramesh Mendis, the offspin-bowling allrounder, misses out on selection, though

Kusal Mendis took home the post-game accolades for a career-best 143 as Sri Lanka won the first ODI against New Zealand on Wednesday by 45 runs via DLS method. However, it might have all been for nought if not for an exemplary effort by the bowlers. New Zealand’s openers Will Young and Tim Robinson had

Wanindu Hasaranga has been ruled out of the ODI series against New Zealand, having sustained an injury to his left hamstring while bowling, in the second T20I, on Sunday. Hasaranga was seen hobbling through his later overs, and was also limping between the wickets while running. He has been replaced in the ODI squad by

Coming off three limited overs series wins in a row, men’s captain Charith Asalanka has serious aspirations for this team: let’s be as good as Sri Lanka had been before 2014. That 2007-2014 side had arguably been Sri Lanka’s greatest ever outfit, getting to no fewer than five World Cup finals (three in T20Is and

Kusal Perera has not played an ODI in almost a year, but has made this squad on the strength of his 55 not out in a T20I against West Indies. Shiraz, 29, has been an excellent domestic performer, taking 84 wickets at 18.75 in List A cricket, but has so far bowled only four overs

Australia will play two Tests in Galle on their tour of Sri Lanka from late January, which could be vital in deciding who reaches the final of the World Test Championship, while an ODI has been added to the trip as preparation for the Champions Trophy. Depending on how the five-match Border-Gavaskar series plays out,

Sri Lanka 156 for 3 (Mendis 56, Nissanka 56, Chase 1-20) vs West Indies (23 overs a side) A belligerent display of ball striking from Kusal Mendis ensured Sri Lanka stormed to 156 for 3 in a rain-truncated 23-over game in Pallekele, after a five-hour delay had threatened to washout the third ODI. After the

Toss Sri Lanka chose to bowl vs West Indies Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bowl first in the rain-shortened second ODI. The toss was delayed by two hours and 15 minutes, and the match curtailed to a 44-overs-a-side affair by drizzle. Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka said his decision at the toss

Toss West Indies chose to bat against Sri Lanka West Indies won the toss and elected to bat first in the first ODI in Pallekele. It’s the first of three games at the venue, with Sri Lanka already having won the T20I leg of the tour 2-1. Shai Hope said this was an opportunity to

Karunaratne’s exclusion confirms the notion that he has simply fallen out of favour with the new selection and coaching regime. He last turned out for a game for Sri Lanka in the 2023 ODI World Cup despite being part of several squads since. But his downward trajectory has coincided with Wickramasinghe’s rise following impressive showings

Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat in the second T20I against West Indies in Dambulla. West Indies lead the three-match series 1-0, having won the first game by five wickets. Charith Asalanka is hoping to see more assistance for spin than there was in the first game. The Sri Lankan captain expected

Toss West Indies opt to bowl vs Sri Lanka West Indies won the toss and chose to bowl first on a wet evening in Dambulla, in which the toss was delayed by half an hour. Captain Rovman Powell said his decision was based on the possibility that the moisture in the surface might offer something

Sri Lanka’s head coach Rumesh Ratnayake has described his team’s performance at the T20 World Cup as “not acceptable”, and a consequence of skill “failing us” after they were knocked out of semi-final contention by India. Sri Lanka have lost all of their three matches so far in the World Cup, and cannot advance out

Middle-order batter Bhanuka Rajapaksa returned to Sri Lanka’s T20I squad for the three-match series against West Indies, but former captain Dasun Shanaka was left out. With Shanaka out, 22-year-old seam-bowling allrounder Chamindu Wickramasinghe, who made his debut against India, keeps his spot. There was also no room for left-arm quick Dilshan Madushanka. Fast bowler Dushmantha

India 172 for 3 (Harmanpreet 52*, Mandhana 50, Shafali 43, Athapaththu 1-34) beat Sri Lanka 90 (Dilhari 21, Sanjeewani 20, Reddy 3-19, Asha 3-19) by 82 runs On a slightly cooler evening in Dubai, with semi-final qualification hopes in the balance, India brought their A-game to the fore to thrash Sri Lanka in the T20

Sanath Jayasuriya has been appointed head coach of Sri Lanka’s men’s team until the end of the 2026 T20 World Cup. He had been their coach since early July, but had been functioning in an interim capacity. But having now impressed in the role, Sri Lanka Cricket has given him the full-time job. Under Jayasuriya

Andre Russell, Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer and Akeal Hosein have all opted out of West Indies’ T20I squad for their upcoming tour of Sri Lanka for personal reasons. Opening batter Evin Lewis, who had last played a T20I during the World Cup in 2022, returned to the side for the three T20Is in Dumbulla. Lewis

The ICC has banned Sri Lanka left-arm spinner Praveen Jayawickrama from all cricket for one year, of which the last six months are suspended, after he admitted to breaching the global body’s anti-corruption code. In August the ICC charged Jayawickrama with two breaches of the code. He has admitted to breaching article 2.4.7, which relates

Sri Lanka have been on an unprecedented high. The team hasn’t looked in a better shape than they are currently, having come off a historic first-ever series win in England followed by the Asia Cup triumph. There’s boisterous energy around the group that stems from “having walked the talk” in the words of Rumesh Ratnayake,

Among other significant moves on the Test rankings, India’s Virat Kohli is back in the top 10 among batters, moving up six places to sixth after his 47 and 29 not out in Kanpur, Sri Lanka’s eight-Test-old Kamindu Mendis is up to No. 11 following his unbeaten 182 in the second Test in Galle, and

Sri Lanka Cricket had advertised the permanent head coach position following Chris Silverwood’s exit in late June. But with at least two of Sri Lanka’s three sides showing signs of improvement under Jayasuriya, SLC has initiated the process to bring Jayasuriya in on a longer term. “We are in the final stages of negotiating the

Sri Lanka’s dominant series win against New Zealand has been one to savour not just for the way they won the second Test but also because it allows, even fleetingly, for them to ponder the prospect of a World Test Championship [WTC] final berth next year. As things stand Sri Lanka are placed third behind

Sri Lanka 602 for 5 dec (Kamindu 182, Chandimal 116, Kusal 106*, Mathews 88, Phillips 3-141) beat New Zealand 88 (Jayasuriya 6-42, Peiris 3-33) and 360 (Phillips 78, Santner 67, Conway 61, Blundell 60, Peiris 6-170, Jayasuriya 3-139) by an innings and 154 runs New Zealand battled on day four, with overnight batters Glenn Phillips,

Prabath Jayasuriya was made to work hard for his wickets in the first Test. Even when he ended up with figures of 4 for 136 in the first innings there, they had at one point been ingloriously perched at 1 for 99. Second time out he got his customary Galle five-for, and that was down

Lunch New Zealand 3 for 1 (Conway 2*, Peiris 1-1) and 88 (Santner 29, Jayasuriya 6-42, Peiris 3-33) trail Sri Lanka 602 for 6 dec by 511 runs Sri Lanka had a bash on a sunny morning, as New Zealand folded for 88, their lowest all-out Test total in reply to the hosts’ 602 on

Kamindu Mendis became the fastest batter to 1000 Test runs in 75 years, as he hit an unbeaten 182 in Sri Lanka’s first innings against New Zealand in Galle. Having got there in 13 innings, Kamindu equalled Don Bradman’s pace to the milestone. The two of them are now third-equal fastest in Test history, with

Lunch Sri Lanka 402 for 5 (Kamindu 93*, Mathews 88, de Silva 44, Phillips 3-65) vs New Zealand The weather had darkened, and there was more turn on offer for the spinners, but Sri Lanka’s dominance continued just the same as they extended their first innings total to 402 for 5, at lunch on day