Sri Lanka will have a fresh voice on the field in June, with Kusal Mendis appointed captain for both the one-dayers and T20s on the upcoming tour of the West Indies. The selectors confirmed the change on Monday, while keeping Dhananjaya de Silva in charge of the two-Test section of the trip.
Mendis, 31, steps in for Charith Asalanka in ODIs and Dasun Shanaka in T20Is. Both displaced skippers remain in the mix: Asalanka keeps his spot in the 16-man 50-over squad, Shanaka holds on to a T20I berth. Left-hand batter Kamindu Mendis has been named vice-captain across the shorter formats.
“We felt Kusal’s tactical reading of white-ball cricket has grown sharply over the last 18 months,” chief selector Upul Tharanga said in the board release. “He communicates well with senior bowlers and younger lads alike, so the timing looked right.”
Mendis himself sounded measured rather than triumphant. “I’m grateful for the trust,” he told local reporters in Colombo. “There’s no miracle fix – it’s about discipline, clear plans, and making sure we finish close games, something we’ve let slip a few times.”
Hasaranga returns
There is good news on the injury front, too. Leg-spinning all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga, sidelined since tearing his left hamstring early in February’s T20 World Cup, has been cleared for both the ODIs and T20Is. “Getting overs into him without rushing is the priority,” team physio Ajantha Dias noted. “We’ll monitor his workload day by day.”
Hasaranga’s absence was keenly felt in the World Cup group stage, where Sri Lanka missed out on the knock-out rounds. Former captain Mahela Jayawardene gave a blunt assessment on television last week: “If Wanindu’s fit, the attack suddenly looks 20 per cent more threatening. Simple as that.”
Tour schedule at a glance
3 – 8 June: three ODIs
11, 13, 14 June: three T20Is
25 June – 7 July: two Tests (back-to-back at North Sound’s Vivian Richards Stadium)
Those six white-ball fixtures will double as preparation for next year’s Champions Trophy qualifying window, so consistency matters as much as immediate results.
Squads in brief
Test: Dhananjaya de Silva (capt), Kamindu Mendis, Pathum Nissanka, Lahiru Udara, Nishan Madushka, Dinesh Chandimal, Pasindu Sooriyabandara, Sonal Dinusha, Kusal Mendis, Milan Rathnayake, Prabath Jayasuriya, Ramesh Mendis, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Isitha Wijesundara, Kasun Rajitha.
ODI: Kusal Mendis (capt), Kamindu Mendis (v-capt), Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Pavan Rathnayake, Janith Liyanage, Charith Asalanka, Milan Rathnayake, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Dilshan Madushanka, Eshan Malinga, Asitha Fernando, Pramod Madushan.
T20I: Kusal Mendis (capt), Kamindu Mendis (v-capt), Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Pavan Rathnayake, Lasith Croospulle, Dasun Shanaka, Milan Rathnayake, Dunith Wellalage, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Dilshan Madushanka, Eshan Malinga, Binura Fernando, Nuwan Thushara.
Analysis: why now?
Sri Lanka’s white-ball leadership has shifted several times since the last World Cup cycle, sometimes reacting to form dips rather than following a defined succession plan. By elevating Mendis – who averages a shade under 40 in ODIs since 2024 and has improved his strike rotation in T20Is – the selectors appear to be banking on a single figurehead in both limited-overs formats, a model that served England well for nearly a decade.
Analyst Russel Arnold was cautiously optimistic on national radio. “Kusal won’t transform things overnight,” he said. “But if he can knit the bowling changes together and back his instincts at the death (the final overs), then Sri Lanka can close that gap on the top four sides.”
Shanaka, for his part, offered support rather than frustration. “Captaining your country is never an entitlement,” he said during a domestic match in Galle. “I’ll focus on my power-hitting role and bowling those two key overs if picked.”
Room for pace
The selectors have again leaned on a pace-heavy line-up for Caribbean conditions: Chameera, Madushanka and Nuwan Thushara all hit the 140 kph mark. Spin remains vital, though. Hasaranga joins off-spinner Maheesh Theekshana and left-arm wrist-spinner Dunith Wellalage to give Mendis each variety he might need, whether under lights in Antigua or on a slower Providence deck.
As ever with Sri Lanka, the proof will come not in press releases but in close contests: a four-run defence here, a calm chase there. Mendis gets his audition soon enough.
