Tomorrow, Afghanistan will take on newly appointed skipper Dhananjaya de Silva’s Sri Lanka. The inexperienced Afghani team will be led by their ODI skipper, Hashmatullah Shahidi, as they seek their first overseas win in Test cricket. The SL vs AFG Test will prove to be the first of many.
The one-off Test will be the first match between the two sides in Test cricket. The match will also be Dhananjaya de Silva’s first match as Sri Lanka’s captain, taking the reigns from experienced opener Dimuth Karunaratne. As for Afghanistan, four uncapped players have been named in their squad who could make their debut in Colombo tomorrow.
SL vs AFG Test: Will Rashid Khan’s absence hurt Afghanistan’s chances?
Despite being made a full ICC member in 2018, the side has donned the white jersey just seven times. Having not played against the top sides, their batters and bowlers are bound to struggle a bit, and that is exactly what happened when they played the West Indies, India, and Bangladesh.
To add to that, their ace spinner, Rashid Khan, won’t be available for selection in the SL vs AFG one-off Test. Given how spin plays a big role in Sri Lanka, his absence will be felt immensely.
But the Afghans are known for their depth in spin bowling options (Qais Ahmad, Zia-ur-Rehman, Zahir Khan, and Abdul Malik) and tried and tested batters (Hashmatullah Shahidi, Ibrahim Zadran, and Rahmat Shah).
For Sri Lanka, not much has changed apart from their skipper. Similar to Afghanistan, they have plenty of spin options, with, of course, a better and proven record. Prabath Jayasuriya has been virtually unplayable in his short career, and Ramesh Mendis has supported Jayasuriya aptly.
Their batting line-up is one of the most experienced ones out there, with the likes of Dhananjaya de Silva, Kusal Mendis, Dimuth Karunaratne, Angelo Mathews, and Dinesh Chandimal.
SL vs AFG Test: Squads
Sri Lanka: Dhananjaya de Silva (c), Kusal Mendis (vc), Dimuth Karunaratne, Nishan Madushka, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Sadeera Samarawickrama (wk), Ramesh Mendis, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Kasun Rajitha, Kamindu Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Lahiru Udara, Chamika Gunasekara, Milan Rathnayake.
Afghanistan: Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Ibrahim Zadran, Abdul Malik, Noor Ali Zadran, Rahmat Shah (vc), Bahir Shah, Nasir Jamal, Ikram Alikhil (wk), Mohammad Ishaq (wk), Qais Ahmad, Zia-ur-Rehman, Zahir Khan, Yamin Ahmadzai, Nijat Masood, Mohammad Saleem and Naveed Zadran.
