In the wake of Sri Lanka’s remarkable three-wicket triumph over Zimbabwe in the first T20I, the spotlight shifted to former Sri Lankan captain Angelo Mathews, whose stellar performance with a thumping knock of 48 runs played a crucial anchoring role in securing victory for his? ?team.

What made Mathews’ contribution even more noteworthy was the fact that he received a T20I call-up after a prolonged hiatus of three years. Post-match, the 36-year-old cricketer candidly expressed his frustration, criticizing the Sri Lanka Cricket Board (SLC) for seemingly overlooking him for an extended peri?od.

Mathews’ powerful comeback not only underscored his enduring skills on the field but also raised questions about the selection decisions that had kept him sidelined from the T20I squad for such a substantial period.

Angelo Mathews lambasts at Sri Lanka Cricket

Mathews voiced his frustration at being overlooked for T20 World Cups (2021 and 2022) despite delivering stellar performances with both bat and ball in the last two Lanka Premier League (LPL) seasons. He suggested that decisions may have been influenced by undisclosed agendas and expressed disappointment at his team’s failure to qualify for the Champions Trophy 2025.

“In the last two Lanka Premier League (LPL) seasons, I batted and bowled well, but unfortunately, I wasn’t selected for the T20 World Cups, and I wasn’t given reasons for that. “If you take decisions that are driven by agendas, these kinds of things can happen – we haven’t even qualified for the Champions Trophy,” Matthews said in the post-match presentation ?ceremony.

Also READ: Brian Lara identifies two p?layers crucial to West Indies�?hopes for orchestrating a major Test upset against Australia

A look at Mathews’ distinguished T20I career

Mathews has been a key figure in the Sri Lanka Cricket Team for an extended period. His impactful presence in 79 T20I matches has seen him amass 1194 runs, punctuated by five half-centuries. Beyond his batting prowess, the Colombo-based has been a valuable asset to the national side, contributing significantly with the ball. His 38 wickets, coupled with an impressive economy rate of 6.99, underline the juggernaut’s multifaceted role as a seasoned all-rounder for his nation.

Also READ- AUS vs WI 2024: West Indies�?best playing XI for T?est series against Australia

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In a significant move within the Sri Lankan cricketing circles, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) have officially named a new Test captain, marking the end of Dimuth Karunaratne‘s leadership tenure that began in 2019.

Dimuth Karunaratne’s leadership era

Sri Lanka’s Chief Selector, Upul Tharanga, confirmed the replacement of Karunaratne as the Test captain. Notably, Karunaratne took charge during a challenging period in Sri Lankan cricket and led the team for 3?0 Tests, achieving a balance of 12 wins, 12 losses, and six draws. His notable achievements include guiding Sri Lanka to a historic Test series victory in South Africa in 2019, a milestone for Asian sides in the cricketing history.

Statistical highlights

Under Karunaratne’s captaincy, not only did Sri Lanka witness significant victories, but fans also saw the best of his batting prowess. With an impressive average of 49.86 as captain, Karunaratne outshone his career average of 40.93. Additionally, he ascended to the top of the Test batting rankings during his captaincy tenure.

Also READ: Sri Lanka unveils squad fo??r home ODIs against Zimbabwe; Akila Dananjaya returns

The dawn of a new captain

Now, as Sri Lanka Cricket looks toward the future, the responsibility of leading the Test team has been handed over to the accomplished Dhananjaya de Silva. Dhananjaya brings with him a wealth of experience, having played in 51 Tests, with?? ten centuries and 13 fifties to his credit. His maiden assignment as captain awaits against Afghanistan in a one-off Test scheduled?? to begin on February 6.

Sri Lanka’s recent captaincy changes

This announcement follows a series of recent captaincy changes in the Sri Lankan cricketing landscape. Kusal Mendis and Wanindu Hasaranga were appointed to lead the ODI and T20I teams, respectively, making Dhananj?aya the third captaincy change within a short span.

Also READ: Sri Lanka Cricke??t names new T20I captain as they announce squads for white-ball series against Zimbabwe

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In a surprising announcement, Sri Lanka’s dynamic all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga has officially retired from Test cricket. The decision was confirmed on Tuesday by the Sri Lanka Cricket Board (SLC). Hasaranga’s retirement decision, made at the pinnacle of his white-ball cricket career, has been met with a mix of understanding and regret from cricket enthusiasts around the globe.

The SLC issued a press release confirming?? that they had accepted his choice to step away from Test cricket, citing his desire to focus and extend his prowess in limited-overs cricket. Hasaranga made his Test debut for Sri Lanka in December 2020 and went on t??o represent his nation in four Test matches. His final appearance in the longest format came in August 2021, signifying the end of his short-lived yet impactful journey in the traditional format.

Ashley De Silva, the CEO of the SLC, expressed the organization’s support for Hasaranga’s decision. In an official statement, he said “We respect Hasaranga’s choice to retire from Test cricket. While his departure from the Test arena is saddening, we are confident that he will continue to be a vital asset to our white-ball cricket program.”

Also READ: Masters Unveiled – Sri Lanka’s All-Time Asia Cup ODI XI

A recognizable face in franchise league cricket

Throughout his first-class career, Hasaranga showcased his diverse skills on the cricket?? field. He participated in 44 first-class games, impressively collecting 102 wickets. Additionally, he etched hi??s name in the annals of cricketing history with three first-class centuries and 19 half-centuries, showcasing his batting prowess.

Although, Hasaranga’s impact is particularly felt in limited-overs cricket, where he has cemented his position as a key member of Sri Lanka’s white-ball setup. He boasts an impressive record of 48 One Day Internationals (ODIs) and 58 Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) for his nation.

Beyond international cricket, Hasaranga has become a recognizable face in various franchise leagues across the world. He has made significant contributions to leagues like the Indian Premier League (IPL), Pakistan Super League (PSL), Caribbean Premier League (CPL), and International Lanka Premier League (ILT20). Presently, the leggie is captaining B-Love Kandy in the ongoing Lanka Premier League (LPL) season.

Also READ: India’s Union Cabinet Minister Smriti Irani reveals the name?? of her favourite cricketer

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Hours after announcing the Men’s squad for the upcoming ODI World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) have announced their Women’s outfit for the upcoming Emerging Teams Asia Cup, scheduled to begin on June 12 in Hong Kong.

The Sri Lanka Cricket Selection Committee picked a 14-member ‘A’ squad to take part in the multi-team tournament. The Sri Lanka team led by Sathya Sandeepan have left for Hong Kong on June 10, 2023.

Sri Lanka Women's 'A' squad led by Sathya Sandeepani 🇱🇰✈️🌏 set off for Hong Kong to compete in the Women's Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2023 🏆🏏#LionessRoar pic.twitter.com/fBNSoOK1qX

— Sri Lanka Cricket 🇱🇰 (@OfficialSLC) June 9, 2023

While the medium-pace all-rounder Sandeepani will lead the side, Malsha Shehani shall be her deputy. Apart from the Islanders, the tournament will feature the participation of India??, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Thailand, and Malaysia and hosts Hong Kong. It is worth noting that the full-member nations will be represented by their U-2?3 or A squads in this competition.

“The Sri Lanka Cricket Selection Committee selected the following Sri Lanka Women’s ‘A’ squad to take part in the Women’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2023. The squad was approved by the Honorable Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs, Roshan Ranasinghe. The Sri Lanka team will leave the country for Hong Kong on June 9, 2023, to take part in the ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup,” read a media release by SLC.

Sri Lanka squad for Emerging Asia Cup 2023: Sathya Sandeepani (Captain), Vishmi Gunaratne, Umesha Thimashini, Imesha Dulani, Piyumi Wathsala, Sachini Nisansala, Kaushini Nuthyangana, Malsha Shehani (Vice Captain), Tharika Sewwa??ndi, Nimesha Madushani, Nilakshana Sandamini, Madushika Meththananda, Rashmi Silva, Dewmi Vihanga

Emerging Women’s Asia Cup 2023 schedule:

• June 12
  Sri Lanka A vs UAE (9 AM)
  Bangladesh A vs Malaysia (2 PM)
• June 13
  Pakistan A vs Thailand A (9 AM)
  Hong Kong vs India A (2 PM)
• June 14
  Sri Lanka A vs Bangladesh A (9 AM)
  UAE vs Malaysia (2 PM)
• June 15
  Hong Kong vs Pakistan A (9 AM)
  India A vs Thailand A (2 PM)
• June 16
  Bangladesh A vs UAE (9 AM)
  Sri Lanka A vs Malaysia (2 PM)
• June 17
  Hong Kong vs Thailand A (9 AM)
  India A vs Pakistan A (2 PM)
• June 19
  Semi-Final 1 (9 AM)
  Semi-Final 2 (2 PM)
• June 21
  Exhibition Game (9 AM)
  Final (2 PM)

This article was first published at WomenCricket.com, a Cricket Times company.

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Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), on Friday, announced the 15-member squad for the upcoming ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier tournament, scheduled to begin in Zimbabwe on June 18.

Known as ‘Baby Malinga’, the young bowling sensation Matheesha Pathirana has been included in the squad. Pathirana, who recently made his One Day International (ODI) debut against Afghanistan, took 19 wickets in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, helping Chenn??ai Super Kings (CSK) clinch the coveted trophy.

Pathirana’s bowling style has led to similarities being noted between him and the iconic Lasith Malinga. Moreover, he is set to be a valuable member of the Sri Lankan squad, who are considered the frontrunners in their quest to secure one of the two a?vailable? qualification spots from the tournament.

Apart from Pathirana, Dushan Hemantha, who made his first ODI appearance a week ago against Afghanistan, has also been named in the outfit. Experienced campaigner Angelo Mathews has been ignored in the side that Dasun Shanaka will lead. But Test skipper Dimuth Karunaratne has retained his place.

“The Sri Lanka Cricket Selection Committee selected the 15-member squad to compete in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier tournament to be held in Zimbabwe. The team will leave for Zimbabwe on June 10, 2023. The above squad was approved by the Honorable Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs, Roshan Ranasinghe,” read a media release of Sri Lanka Cricket.

Sri Lanka squad for World Cup Qualifiers: Dasun Shanaka (c), Kusal Mendis (vc & wk), Dimuth Karunaratne, Pathum Nissanka, Chari??th Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Sadeera Samarawickrama (wk), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Dushman??tha Chameera, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara, Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana, Dushan Hemantha

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The Sri Lanka Cricket Board (SLC) has announced the centra?l contract list of its players for the upcoming 2022-23 season. The list features 19 centrally contracted players for t??he year 2022.

As per SLC CEO Ashley de Silva, all the cricketers have signed contracts, unlike last year when the players had raised questions reg?arding offering a per??formance-based contract. Further, the apex board had also raised the benchmark for fitness levels.

Notably, the players have been assembled into five categories, from A1 to C2. While for the domestic players, there is a separate category this time around. A1, which is the topmost category, includes four players, i.e. Dimuth Karunaratne, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dushmantha Chameera, and Wanindu Hasaranga.

Additionally, Niroshan Dickwella, Danushka Gunathilaka, and Kusal Mendis, who were banned last year for brea??ching the bio-bubble, have been placed in the C??2 category.

Here’s the complete list of centrally contracted players from Sri Lanka:

• A1 �?Dimuth Karunaratne, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dushmantha Chameera, and Wanindu Hasaranga.
• B1 �?Pathum Nissanka, Lahiru Thirimanne, Dasun Shanaka, Dinesh Chandimal, Kusal Perera, Angelo Mathews.
• B2 �?Lasith Embuldeniya, Ramesh Mendis, Charith Asalanka
• C1 �?Vishwa Fernando, Avishka Fernando, Chamika Karunaratne.
• Domestic Players �?Praveen Jayawickrama, Oshada Fernando, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Lakshan Sandakan, Maheesh Theekshana, Nuwan Pradeep, Binura Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Minod Bhanuka, Kamindu Mendis.
• C2 �?Niroshan Dickwella, Danushka Gunathilaka, and Kusal Mendis.

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In recent developments from Sri Lanka, the much-hyped 2011 World Cup final fixing probe ended in a stalemate as the investigation did not find any ?evidence.

The probe unit was set-up on the repeated demands from former Sri Lankan Sports Minister, Mahindananda Aluthgamage, who claimed that the final of the coveted tournament was fixed by ‘certain parties’.

The uproar led to the initiation of an enquiry by the Special Investigation ??Division of the Police. With no evidence found, Sri Lankan police decided to call off the investigation.

Earlier, the Lankan greats Aravinda de Silva, who was the chief selector then, was summoned by the investigation unit, along with the then captain Kumar Sangakkara, and Mahela Jayawardena.

Even former Lankan o?pener Upul Tharanga was quizzed by the investigation committee. Massive protests assembled in front of SLC office when the interrogation hours reached over 10 hours on Thursday.

“We will be sending a report to the Secretary, Ministry of Sports who directed us. We have concluded the investigation following an internal discussion held today,” Jagath Fonseka, the police superintendent in charge of the special investigation unit on prevention of offences relating to sports, told reporters.

“We see no reason why players must be further questioned”, he added. “We felt that summoning all players to give statements would create an unnecessary uproar,” Fonseka said while diffusing Aluthgamage claims.

Earlier, De?? Silva urged ICC and SLC to launch a probe for clearing their names in the charges which brought disrepute to the personnel involved in the auspicious event for Indian cricket, including Sachin Tendulkar.

According to the ex Sports Minister, the Sri Lan??kan team management did not intimate au??thorities about the team changes on the eve of the day of final.

Aluthgamage asserted that players were not involved. However, he couldn’t prove how could a match be fixed without the involvement of the participants.

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Sri Lankan Cricket (SLC) is currently going through a crisis of producing qu?ality players at the international level, since the departure of their stalwarts.

Lankans had to bid farewell to greats such as Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardena, Mut?tiah Muralitharan and Sanath Jayasuriya, and since then have been strug??gling perennially with their transition.

Now, to make matters worse, the International Cricket Council (ICC) is cu??rrently probing three Lankan cricketers for levell?ing match-fixing charges.

The Sports Minister of Sri L??anka, Dullas Alagapperumma, claimed on Wednesday??. Keeping the confidentiality of the matter, Dullas did not mention whether the players under investigation were former or current cricketers.

The honorary minister expressed his disappointment to see the sorry state of affairs in the cricket-frenzied nation.“We are sorry to see that sports had fallen short of discipline and char??acter,�?said Dullas.

However, SLC insisted that there were no active players involved. “SLC strongly believes that what the honourable minister actual??ly mentioned was about an investigation launched by the ICC anti-corruption unit against three former Sri Lanka players and not the current national players,�?SLC stated in its release.

It was only a week back w?hen fast bowler Shehan Madushanka was detained by the Sri Lankan law enforcement age??ncy for possession of heroin.

Consequently, Madu?shanka’s central contract with SLC was detained. “It was sad, and the country had placed high hopes on? him,�?said the Sports Minister.

Further, Dullas aff??irmed that he had high hopes from Madushanka. Also, he suggested that the government will focus on the? dropping standards of cricket at the grass-root level.

During a recent meeting, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa conversed with Jayawardena, Sangakkara, and Jayasuriya, where the former greats high?lighted the need for the resurrection of cricket at the grass-root level.

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Apex cricketing body of the country, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has said that it is willing to send its players’ to tour Sri Lanka for a six-match white-ball cricket series, provided the government permits them.

The treasurer of BCCI, Arun Dhumal, suggested that the Indian team will travel to the island nation only if it doesn’t compromise the safety and the health of players.

“It all depends on government directives pertaining to lockdown relaxations and travel restrictions. We are open to travel if it doesn’t compromise the safety and health of our boys,” Dhumal said.

The statement came in the aftermath of Sri Lankan Cricket (SLC) Board’s plea to BCCI, offering to host the Men in Blue behind closed doors for a three-match ODI and T20I series.

The proposed window of the ??series is by the en?d of July, provided they were ready to undergo quarantine rules and regulation.

India’s last piece of cricketing action came during the New Zealand tour where they lost the two-match Test series by 2-0.

Th?e Indian players were scheduled to take part in the thirteenth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL)? before the tournament was suspended indefinitely.

Si?nce then, the players have been confined to their residence due to the nationwide lockdown imposed on March 25.

Earlier, the likes of Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma and Mohammed Shami talked about proper training camps for at le??ast four weeks before they take part in any cricketing action.

The pl??ayers residing in metropolitan cities do not have adequate space to keep themselves going amid lockdown period. Some of them do not even have space to run.

Apart from the internal issues, international travel is prohibited in the majority of countries?? due to the rampant spread of COVID-19 pandemic. It appears highly unlikely that the tour would be conducted, given the short ??notice period.

“If the BCCI is saying they are ready to tour, that’s just smokescreen. They are telling Sri Lanka, we are willing to honour bilateral commitments,” an anonymous source confirmed.

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