After a thrilling win against Pakistan, the high on confidence Sri Lanka takes on India in the Asia Cup final on Sunday. The home side have opted to bat first and made one forced change in their Playing XI for the IND vs SL final as spinner Maheesh Theekshana has been ruled out after suffering a hamstring injury. Off-spinner Sahan Arachchige has been added to squad but sits out.
The management have included leg spinner Dushan Hemantha in the XI against India. Apart from being a good wrist spinner, Dushan will also add depth to Sri Lanka’s batting line-up.
Although Pramod Madushan went for runs in the last game, he keeps his place in IND vs SL Asia Cup final.
Sri Lanka Playing XI vs IND:
- Pathum Nissanka
- Kusal Perera
- Kusal Mendis (wk)
- Sadeera Samarawickrama
- Charith Asalanka
- Dhananjaya de Silva
- Dasun Shanaka (C)
- Dunith Wellalage
- Dushan Hemantha
- Pramod Madushan
- Matheesha Pathirana
Dasun Shanaka’s form a concern?
While Sri Lanka’s batting has been one of the biggest positives, skipper Dasun Shanaka’s form has been a concern for the side.
Shanaka has played six games in the tournament so far and managed to score a total of 54 runs. However, he has led the Sri Lankan side well and was instrumental with the ball in team’s win against Bangladesh.
Ahead of the Asia Cup final, Shanaka thanked the selectors for backing him.
“I don’t compare my batting when I go to lead the team. My decision-making is more important than being a batsman in the middle. I don’t say that batting is not important, but at the same time, I need to forget all the things that happened with the bat.”
“I need to be calm and cool whenever the decisions should be taken. I must be thankful to the selectors for keeping trust in me and also backing me and my coaching staff for giving me the confidence to be the leader to deliver the maximum out of me, so I am very grateful to them,” said Shanaka.
IND vs SL: Team News
- Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Perera will continue to open the batting together.
- Sri Lanka’s batting has been excellent throughout the tournament and the management has not made any changes in batting positions in final.
- In bowling department, only Maheesh Theekshana misses out. Wrist spinner Dushan Hemantha comes in to replace him in XI.
Sri Lanka Squad for Asia Cup
Dasun Shanaka (c), Pathum Nissanaka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Janith Perera, Kusal Mendis (vc), Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Dunith Wellalage, Matheesha Pathirana, Kasun Rajitha, Dushan Hemantha, Binura Fernando, Pramod Madushan, Sahan Arachchige
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