Sri Lanka have pressed the refresh button for next week’s five-match T20I series in India, backing 17-year-old ambidextrous wrist-spinner Shashini Gimhani and two other rookies, seamer Kawya Kavindi (23) and fellow quick Rashmika Sewwandi (19).
Captain Chamari Athapaththu still leads a core of familiar faces, but the selectors have quietly moved on several senior bowlers as they look towards next year’s T20 World Cup in England.
“We can’t keep picking on reputation,” selection chair Apsari Tillakaratne said after announcing the squad. “The youngsters have put numbers on the board, so they get their chance.”
Key omissions
Out go wicketkeeper-batter Anushka Sanjeewani (35, 86 T20Is) together with left-arm seamer Udeshika Prabodhani, spinner Sugandika Kumari and all-rounder Achini Kulasuriya – all over 30, all part of the tour of New Zealand in March. It is, on any reading, a sizeable shift.
Athapaththu acknowledged the call was difficult. “Those players have carried us for years,” she said. “But we’ve got to build depth now, not six months from the World Cup.”
The new faces
Gimhani is the headline act. She bowls wrist-spin with either arm – left-arm chinaman her stronger suit – and her economy rate of 5.53 from five senior T20Is hints at control as well as novelty. Her performances against Australia Under-19s in September, where she picked up wickets with both arms in the same over, pushed her case over the line.
Kavindi already owns ten T20I caps but has rarely strung matches together. Bowling coach Rumesh Kaluwitharana likes her ability to hit the deck. “She’s a heavy-ball bowler,” he noted, “and India have plenty of strokemakers who don’t enjoy that extra bounce.”
Sewwandi is rawer – one T20I, no overs bowled – yet the selectors value her skiddy pace. Left-arm spinner Nimasha Madushani (26) completes the uncapped contingent.
Old hands still around
Experience isn’t entirely out the window. Inoka Ranaweera, now 39, remains the senior spinner, while Hasini Perera, Vishmi Gunaratne, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Nilakshika de Silva and Kavisha Dilhari keep the batting spine intact. Kaushini Nuthyangana will take the gloves in Sanjeewani’s absence, and seamer Malki Madara – quietly effective in ODIs this year – returns.
All-rounder Malsha Shehani, who flips between seam and off-spin depending on conditions, sneaks in as well. “She gives us flexibility at the back end,” Athapaththu pointed out. “You need that in India, where pitches can change from one ground to the next.”
Schedule at a glance
21 Dec – 1st T20I, Visakhapatnam
23 & 25 Dec – 2nd & 3rd T20Is, Vizag
28 & 30 Dec – 4th & 5th T20Is, Thiruvananthapuram
Analysis – what to watch
1. Gimhani’s ambidexterity: if she switches mid-over, umpires must signal the change, and batters only get a brief look. That alone can break rhythm.
2. Power-play bowling: without Prabodhani’s left-arm swing India may attack early; Kavindi’s bounce becomes crucial.
3. Middle-order strike rate: Sri Lanka’s women have often stalled after the tenth over. Dilhari and Samarawickrama need to kick on.
Former Sri Lanka coach Hashan Tillakaratne offered a note of caution. “Blooding youth is healthy, but it’s harsh in India. Results might dip before they climb.”
Athapaththu is realistic yet upbeat. “A tour like this tells us exactly where the kids stand. If they handle 40,000 in Vizag, they can handle anything,” she laughed.
Squad in full
Chamari Athapaththu (capt), Hasini Perera, Vishmi Gunaratne, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Nilakshika de Silva, Kavisha Dilhari, Imesha Dulani, Kaushini Nuthyangana (wk), Malsha Shehani, Inoka Ranaweera, Shashini Gimhani, Nimesha Madushani, Kawya Kavindi, Rashmika Sewwandi, Malki Madara.
Plenty, then, for Sri Lanka’s brains trust to ponder. The results sheet may not be flawless, but, for once, the long term feels front and centre – and that, in itself, is progress.
