Team Profile, Sri Lanka: The Emerald Isles Seek To Recover From Reverses And Tragedy

Sri Lanka have been in a poor stretch cricket-wise, and the recent terror attacks there have added to their miseries manifold. They will seek some redemption and joy in the ICC World Cup 2019. Sri Lanka have participated in all editions of the World Cup, winning the one in 1996. They were runners-up in 2007 and 2011, semi-finalists in 2003 and quarter-finalists in 2015.

Dimuth Karunaratne (captain)

Karunaratne has not played any ODIs for the past four years but has been an active member of Test squad where he has scored 1954 runs in 26 games at an average of 36.19 in the past three years, his highest score being 196 vs Pakistan. 

This is Dimuth Karunaratne's first World Cup.

Avishka Fernando

Making his debut against Australia in August 2016, Fernando rose through the ranks by smashing 95 off 96 balls against England in the U-19 World Cup quarter-final in 2016. In the same year he hit consecutive 100s against England U-19 in a bilateral series.  

This is Avishka Fernando's first World Cup.

Lahiru Thirimanne

Thirimanne has been picked in the squad despite having not played for a year. Prior to the hiatus, he had scored 360 runs in 10 games in 2017, averaging 36 with a strike rate of 65.45. He made a comeback early this year, playing four Test matches, scoring 175 runs with an average of 21.87.

He was quite good in the 2015 World Cup, where he scored 302 runs in seven games, averaging 50.33 at a strike rate of 84.83. His best score was 139 not out vs England.

Kusal Perera

The wicketkeeper-batsman has done pretty well in the 2018-19 season, scoring 427 runs in 15 ODIs averaging 33.11 with a strike rate of 96.93. His highest score during this time was 102 vs New Zealand.

Perera played two games in the 2015 World Cup, against Scotland and South Africa.

Kusal Mendis

The wicketkeeper-batsman has been decent since his debut in 2016 against Ireland. He has scored 1626 runs with a strike rate of 84.82, averaging 28.03. His personal best is 102 against Bangladesh in Dambulla.  

Angelo Mathews

The veteran all-rounder has been out of action since mid-September 2018 due to an injury, but prior to that he was having a pretty good season, with 573 runs in 15 ODIs in 2017, averaging 63.66. In 2018, he scored 315 runs in eight games with an average of 52.50.

This is Angelo Mathews' 3rd World Cup, where he's scored 289 runs and taken 12 wickets in 15 games, with a batting average of 36.12, and an economy rate of 5.27.

Dhananjaya de Silva

Since making his debut in 2016 against Ireland, De Silva has done a good job, with 681 runs and 15 wickets in 32 ODIs, with a batting average of 26.19 and an economy rate of 5.35. 

This is Dhananjaya de Silva's first World Cup.

Jeffrey Vandersay

Vandersay will be coming back to the squad after serving a one-year suspension due to disciplinary issues. Since making his debut against New Zealand in late 2015, he has 10 wickets in 11 games with an economy of 5.74. His best figures are 3-50 vs Zimbabwe.

This is Jeffrey Vandersay's first World Cup.

Thisara Perera

The veteran all-rounder has been in good touch lately, with 415 runs and 25 wickets in 2018, with a batting average of 34.58 and an economy rate of 5.78. He recently scored a personal best of 140 off 74 balls against New Zealand early this year with a strike rate of 189.18.

This will be his 3rd World Cup, where he has played 10 games, scored 106 runs, and taken 13 wickets.

Isuru Udana

Udana made his comeback into the Sri Lanka ODI squad after a seven-year hiatus against South Africa. His most notable performance was the 78 not out off 57 balls in the 2nd ODI.

This is Isuru Udana's first World Cup. 

Lasith Malinga

Malinga is Sri Lanka's strike bowler, despite his age and injuries. He played 14 ODI's in 201918 and 2019, taking 21 wickets, with an economy of 5.585. His recent best figures are 5-44 against England.

This will be Malinga's 4th World Cup, where he performed brilliantly, with 43 wickets in 22 games with an economy of 5.32. His best figures are 6-38 vs Kenya at 2011.

Suranga Lakmal

Lakmal hasn't played an ODI since September 15, 2018. However, he performed decently in 2017, where he 19 wickets in 16 games with an economy of 5.19. In 2018, where he took 11 wicket in 11 games with an economy of 5.44.

Lakmal played in four games during the 2015 World Cup, taking seven wickets with an economy of 6.11.

Nuwan Pradeep

Pradeep was decent in 2017, with 10 wickets in 10 ODI's with an economy of 5.84. He only played eight ODIs in 2018 and 2019, taking 10 wickets, with an economy of 6.71, with best figures of 3-28 against Zimbabwe.

This is Nuwan Pradeep's first World Cup

Jeevan Mendis

Mendis finds himself in this squad without playing an ODI since 2015. He was noted for his comeback performance in the T20I match against Bangladesh in Feb 2018, where he had figures of 2-21. He was also the joint highest wicket taker of the Mzansi Super League.

This is Jeevan Mendis' first World Cup.

Milinda Siriwardana

Siriwardana made it into the squad without playing an ODI for more than a year. In 2017, he had scored 232 runs in 12 games, averaging 19.33, with a strike rate of 86.89. His best score in this period came against India, where he scored 58.

This is Milinda Siriwardana's first World Cup.

Topics mentioned in this article

Sri Lanka Cricket Team Lasith Malinga Angelo Mathews World Cup 2019 Cricket