India's Tour of Sri Lanka: A Litmus Test for Dinesh Chandimal and Lahiru Thirimanne

"We need to get the younger brigade in the stream, so we have a gradual transition leading up to the next World T20 and the 50-over World Cup beyond that," said Sri Lanka's chief selector Kapila Wijegunawardene, adding: "We need to put them on the ground and see how they perform." (Amit Mishra Spins Back to India Test Squad for Sri Lanka)

Binura Fernando - fast bowler

Jeffrey Vandersay - leg spinner

Shehan Jayasuriya - batsman

Dasun Shanaka - batsman

Dhananjaya de Silva - batsman

Sri Lanka have made wholesale changes in their T20 squad against Pakistan and have put five uncapped youngsters in their unit. Brave move, especially when a team has lost both the Test and ODI series in their own backyard. Then again, Sri Lanka didn't have many options but to ring in the changes. (End of the Road For Gautam Gambhir?)

Lankan cricket is undergoing a massive transformation. With Mahela Jayawardene already retired and Kumar Sangakkara almost done with his career, the islanders are in one of the toughest phases since the pre-1996 era.

The middle-order that rested so heavily on the 'Sanga-Mahela' duet have look out of tune and against Pakistan, the Angelo Mathews-led side has often looked out of their depth. The waning powers of Tillakaratne Dilshan haven't helped matters either. (India vs Sri Lanka Test Series Will be a Close Contest: Sehwag)

Over the last couple of years, the rise of Mathews as a player and a leader has been the only silver lining for Sri Lankan cricket. The gutsy all-rounder has not only improved his skills as a cricketer but his no-nonsense approach to captaincy has held Lankan cricket in good stead in front of much superior rivals. (India Can Beat Sri Lanka:Laxman)

But Mathews can't see through this transition alone and especially against India, he needs help. He needs help from Lahiru Thirimanne and Dinesh Chandimal.

Dinesh Chandimal

Dinesh Chandimal: Needs to step up his game

© AFP

Chandimal is the underperforming 'oh-such-a-great-talent' of Sri Lankan cricket. In short, he's the Lankan edition of Rohit Sharma.

This 25-year-old right-hander is undoubtedly the most promising young batsman in the Sri Lankan ranks. Not only is he technically solid but he is easy on the eye and has an array of strokes all around the ground. Much in the Jayawardene mould, he is capable of pacing an innings to perfection.

However, everything falls apart when his temperament kicks in -- the pretty 30s are often followed by an ugly hoick or an unnecessary slash outside the off-stump.

Chandimal made a solid debut against South Africa in Durban with fifties in each innings. Since then in the 18 Tests he has played so far, Chandimal has scored three hundreds at an average of 41 but all those tons have come against a much weaker Bangladesh side of the past.

His ODI record doesn't make for good reading as well. In 99 games, he has managed only 2269 runs at an average of 31.08. What's worse is that he has gone past the hundred mark only twice. Agreed, he has been shunted up and down the order a bit but a batsman of his calibre should have better returns to show for.

Lahiru Thirimanne

Lahiru Thirimanne: Time to fire in Tests!

© AFP

The first thing that strikes while watching Thirimanne is his unflappable attitude. Then, he goes down on his knees and slaps the ball through covers much like the great Sangakkara.

Then again, he is no Sangakkara but he has the potential to become a worthy successor.

An opener by design, Thirimanne made his debut in early 2010 but his inconsistency against the new ball saw him bow out of the national side. However, a switch to the middle-order suited his style more and saw him make significant contributions to the Lankan side but he too, just like Chandimal, hasn't done enough.

With just a solitary hundred in 19 Tests, Thirimanne has left a lot to be desired in the longer format of the game. He may not be as talented as Chandimal and is definitely limited in his strokeplay but just four tons in 98 ODIs is definitely not a proud return for a top-order batsman.

Both Chandimal and Thirimanne were omitted from the T20 squad that's set to take on Pakistan.

"Chandimal and Thirimanne needed to prepare for the upcoming India Test series which is a very important one", explained chief selector Wijegunawardene.

The chief selector might have sugar-coated their omission but the signal should be loud and clear to both these batsmen. The Pakistan series has opened up the vulnerabilities of the Lankan middle-order and the Indians would be eyeing to take advantage of them. India have not won a Test series for some time and a brittle Sri Lankan batting must have the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin and Harbhajan Singh rubbing their palms in glee.

Sri Lanka have invested a lot in this pair, grooming them to be the men to replace their 'big two'. However, the longer rope seems to be running out now and for the prosperity of Sri Lankan cricket, this right-left combination needs to click against a much stronger Indian outfit.