Former fast bowler Pramodya Wickramasinghe will once again head Sri Lanka’s national selection committee, covering both the men’s and women’s senior teams. Joining him are ex-internationals Vinothen John, Indika de Saram, Rasanjali de Alwis (nee Silva) and Tharanga Paranavitana.
The change, confirmed by the sports ministry late on Tuesday, ends the brief tenure of the panel led by Upul Tharanga. Paranavitana and de Saram, however, provide a thread of continuity, having served under Tharanga over the past year.
Wickramasinghe is no stranger to the job. He chaired the selectors from 2021 to 2023, but stepped aside after the men’s side finished well off the pace at the 2023 ODI World Cup. Before that, he sat on the Sanath Jayasuriya-led committee between 2013 and 2015—Jayasuriya is now the men’s head coach, so the pair are reunited, at least administratively.
Asked how the names were chosen, Sri Lanka Cricket chief executive Ashley de Silva pointed to the long-standing Sports Law, which gives the ministry the final say. “Sri Lanka Cricket sends a list of about ten names to the ministry, and they have chosen from that,” de Silva told ESPNcricinfo. “There is no term as such. The appointment is until further notice.”
De Silva also played down talk of internal friction, saying the previous committee had “simply come to the end of its term”. Even so, the timing is tight. The men’s T20 World Cup is in February–March, and the first major task for the new selectors will be to settle on a 15-player squad. Only three weeks ago Tharanga hinted that skipper Charith Asalanka might be replaced; that call now belongs to Wickramasinghe and colleagues.
All five selectors have Test or ODI experience. John, the oldest of the group, last played for Sri Lanka in 1987. Paranavitana and de Saram were still active on the domestic circuit earlier this decade, giving the panel a blend of generational viewpoints.
Whether the new line-up brings stability is another matter. Selection committees in Sri Lanka seldom enjoy long, uneventful runs, but for now Wickramasinghe’s brief is straightforward: pick balanced squads, work with the coaching staff and, perhaps most crucially, keep the ministry and board on the same page.
