Former white-ball skipper Dasun Shanaka, swing-bowling all-rounder Chamika Karunaratne and left-arm spinner Dunith Wellalage have returned to Sri Lanka’s T20I set-up for the three-match series against Bangladesh, starting in Colombo on 10 July. Fast-bowling rookie Eshan Malinga, still uncapped in the format, is the only new face in an otherwise familiar 17-man group.
Shanaka last played international cricket a year ago but has stayed busy on the franchise circuit, finishing the recent ILT20 with a string of late-order cameos for Dubai Capitals. Karunaratne has taken the opposite route, focusing on domestic cricket after being dropped in November 2023. Across the past two local seasons only Wanindu Hasaranga, Karunaratne and Wellalage have managed the all-round double of 300 runs and 20 wickets, a statistic that always resonates with selectors looking for depth.
Malinga’s inclusion is reward for his lively spell with Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2025, where 13 wickets in seven matches came at a tidy average of 18.30. He has gone wicketless just once in 27 senior T20 innings, an early marker of consistency that Sri Lanka’s pace stocks have occasionally lacked.
Matheesha Pathirana, Nuwan Thushara and Binura Fernando provide established pace support, while both Shanaka and Karunaratne strengthen the seam options in the middle overs. Spin is led, as usual, by Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana, with leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay retained as cover. Wellalage’s left-arm orthodox gives the attack a different angle, and part-time overs are available from Kamindu Mendis and Charith Asalanka.
The top order is stable: Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis are expected to open, with either Kusal Perera or Avishka Fernando at three. Chandimal, Kamindu and Asalanka fill out the engine room, though the final batting order will hinge on conditions at the R Premadasa Stadium.
Only Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Chamindu Wickramasinghe and seamer Asitha Fernando fall out from the squad that toured New Zealand last December. Selection convener Pramodya Wickramasinghe noted in a media release that the panel wanted “variety and proven finishing power”, a brief seemingly addressed by Shanaka’s return and the left-hand option of Wellalage down the list.
The matches are scheduled for 10, 13 and 16 July, all in Colombo, before the sides switch formats for three ODIs later in the month.
Sri Lanka T20I squad
Charith Asalanka (capt), Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera, Avishka Fernando, Kamindu Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal, Dasun Shanaka, Dunith Wellalage, Chamika Karunaratne, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Jeffrey Vandersay, Matheesha Pathirana, Nuwan Thushara, Binura Fernando, Eshan Malinga
