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Brandon Moyo
SRI LANKA’s spinning wizard and one of the best bowlers in the world at the moment, Wanindu Hasaranga is set to make a return to international cricket when his side hosts Zimbabwe for a white-ball series in early January.
The 26-year-old, who was the leading wicket taker during the 2023 World Cup Qualifiers, last played inter-national cricket before the World Cup due to a hamstring tear injury and is tipped to be back for the Chevrons series.
He also missed the World Cup and he underwent surgery and will be a timely boost to the Lankan side that will host the Chevrons in the two nations’ first international assignments of the New Year, 2024.
In a 21-member preliminary Sri Lankan squad that Zimpapers Sports got from a source in Sri Lanka, the Li-ons’ start bowling all rounder is returning back to the fold while Dushmantha Chameera is still in the side-lines.
As Hasaranga returns to international cricket, veteran all-rounder Angelo Mathews is likely to miss out. Mathews was not the only notable absentee from the Lankan team that is set to host the Chevrons. Some of the names that were not included on the squad include Dhananjaya De Silva, and Dimuth Karunaratne.
The series between Sri Lanka and the Chevrons will be the two teams’ first international assignments of the New Year, 2024. The two will play three One Day Internationals (ODIs) and as many T20Is. The Chevrons are expected to arrive in Sri Lanka on January 3. All matches will be played at R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo. The first ODI will be played on January 6 followed by the second on January 8. The last ODI is set for January 11. After the ODIs, the three T20Is will be played on January 14, 16 and 18.
This will be Zimbabwe’s first bilateral visit to the island nation since January2022. In their last visit to Sri Lanka, they played three ODIs and the Lions won the series 2-1.
The Chevrons have shown good form against the Lions in recent years, including a stunning 3-2 ODI series win during their tour of Sri Lanka in 2017; however, the latter enjoys a good track record over the former.
Apart from bilateral cricket, Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka last played together in white ball cricket in July in the 2023 World Cup Qualifiers where the Lankans prevailed after a dominant performance.
They convincingly won the match by nine wickets in front of a sold out Queens Sports Club. Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka have played each other 61 times in ODIs and the latter enjoys a better win ratio. From those 61 matches, Sri Lanka has won 47 games whereas Zimbabwe has been victorious on 12 occasions. Two matches have had no results.
Sri Lanka will also be favourites going into the series as they have won 12 times at home while losing on three occasions only. They enjoy a 77, 04 win percentage over the Chevrons. In T20s, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe have only faced each other three times and the Lankans have won all of the games thus enjoying a 100 percent winning ratio against the Chevrons in the shorter version of the game. The series promises to be a great time for cricket enthusiasts, both in Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka Zimbabwe, on the other hand, will be hoping to lift themselves after a string of disappointing results and get off their New Year to a good start. They failed to qualify for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 after being unable to secure a top-two finish in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Africa Region Qualifier.
The Zimbabwean squad is yet to be revealed.
Sri Lanka Preliminary Squad:
Kusal Mendis, Charith Asalanka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Pathum Nissanka, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Dasun Shanaka, Chamika Karunaratne, Dushmantha Chameera, Maheesh Theekshana, Avishka Fernando, Nu-wanidu Fernando, Dunith Wellalage, Janith Liyanage, Kamindu Mendis, Akila Dhananjaya, Sahan Arach-chige, Dilshan Madushanka, Asitha Fernando, Pramod Madushan, Jeffrey Vandersay, Chamika
Online Reporter