ICC Cricket World Cup 2011: Sri Lanka announce 15-member squad
Sri Lanka Cricket announced their 15-member squad for February’s International Cricket Council World Cup 2011.
The Board trimmed down the 30-man preliminary squad that spurned up a couple of surprises including Chaminda Vaas and Sanath Jayasuriya. However, the veteran duo was dropped for the final squad for the coveted cricket event. Sri Lanka is one of the co-hosts of the World Cup along with India and Bangladesh. The mega event will get underway on 19 February 2011.
41-year-old Jayasuriya was last seen in a two-match Twenty20 series against New Zealand in 2010. He is now a member of the Sri Lankan parliament and has retired from Test cricket to focus on shorter formats of the game. The last time he featured in a One Day International was in December 2009. The veteran was also part of the World Cup winning Sri Lankan squad in 1996.
On the other hand, Vaas who has also quit Test cricket, played his last ODI for Sri Lanka in August 2008. The 36-year-old is Sri Lanka’s most lethal new-ball bowler however; it now seems that his 50-over cricket career is on hold for some time. Vaas was also part of the squad in the 1996 World Cup victory.
The selectors did not give reasons to exclude the two veteran players, however there were reports suggesting earlier that the chairman of selectors Aravinda de Silva was not keen on picking the duo due to their recent form slump. He hinted that there would be no place for the senior players as the youngsters were the need of the hour.
However, their exclusion from the final squad means that Muttiah Muralitharan will be the only player who featured in the successful team of 1996. Muralitharan retired from Test cricket in July 2010 as he took his 800th wicket. He also holds the record number of wickets (517) in ODIs.
Surprisingly, Sri Lanka’s leading off-spinner Suraj Randiv could not find a World Cup berth as left-arm spinner Rangana Herath was included in the 15-man squad. Herath is an orthodox left-arm spinner and has taken only nine wickets from nine international appearances.
Kumar Sangakkara will be captaining the side with Mahela Jayawardene acting as his deputy.
Here is a complete 15-member list:
Sri Lanka's World Cup Squad: Kumar Sangakkara (captain and wicketkeeper), Mahela Jayawardene (vice captain), Thilan Samaraweera, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Chamara Kapugedera, Angelo Mathews, Chamara Silva, Lasith Malinga, Tissara Perera, Dilhara Fernando, Nuwan Kulasekara, Muttiah Muralitharan, Rangana Herath, Ajantha Mendis.
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