Sri Lanka has announced their squad for the 2-match test series against New Zealand at home. Oshada Fernando makes a return to Sri Lanka’s red ball squad, taking the place of opening batter Nishan Madushka who finds himself out of the side. Fernando makes a comeback post 1.5 years of absence from the national side.
Oshada is back after a strong performance with the A squad, which is presently on a tour of South Africa. After scoring 122 and 80 to earn Player of the Match honors, the 32-year-old batsman—who has participated in 21 Test matches—saw Sri Lanka A win the first of the two unofficial Tests held in Kimberley. The selectors decided to shorten his stay in South Africa and force him into a Test team for the first time since March 2023 based solely on his performances.
Inevitably, Madushka was the odd man out after a challenging tour of England, in which he was dropped for the third Test after scoring 4, 0, 7, and 13 in the first two. The match-winning century made by Pathum Nissanka, his replacement at the top of the order, in the last Test means the 25-year-old wicketkeeper has no place in the playing XI.
The other two players left off of the 16-man Sri Lankan squad to play New Zealand are Nisala Tharaka and Kasun Rajitha, who were both included in the team during the three-match Test tour of England. Since neither Rajitha nor Tharaka participated in any of the games in England, Sri Lanka’s seam contingent was already overstocked given the predicted spin-friendly conditions in Galle. The seamers who participated and actually impressed included Asitha Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Vishwa Fernando, and Milan Rathnayake.
The first Test against New Zealand begins on September 18 and the second match will be played from September 26. Both games will be played in Galle and are a part of the World Test Championship.
