Chamari Atapattu ruled out of Asia Cup with dengue

Thursday, 31 May 2018 00:31 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

From left: Sri Lanka Women’s Cricket Head Coach Hemantha Devapriya, Sri Lanka Women Cricket Chief Selector Rasanjali de Alwis, Asian Tour Captain Shashikala Siriwardene and Women’s Cricket Manager Varuna Waragoda

– Pix by Lasantha Kumara

ESPNCricinfo: Sri Lanka women’s captain Chamari Atapattu and teammate Ama Kanchana have been ruled of the Asia Cup T20 starting 3 June in Kuala Lumpur because of dengue.

Shashikala Siriwardane, who relinquished captaincy in 2014, will step in to lead after Sri Lanka Cricket opted against promoting designated vice-captain Hasini Perera to the role.

Harshitha Madavi, the 19-year old allrounder, and veteran spinner Inoka Ranaweera have been drafted in following the late withdrawals - among five changes to the squad that faced Pakistan in March.

In other changes, experienced opener Yasoda Mendis return to the side and is likely to open with Nipuni Hansika, who missed the Pakistan T20Is but impressed in the preceding ODI series. Spinner Inoshi Fernando, 31, also returns to the T20 fold, while uncapped 22 year-old allrounder Malsha Shehani is the only new face. Making way are Dilani Manodara, Sripali Weerakkody, and Imalka Mendis.

Sri Lanka begin their Asia Cup T20 campaign on Sunday when they face Bangladesh. Each team will play each other once in a round-robin format over the course of a week, with the final set to take place on 10 June.

Squad: Shashikala Siriwardena (Captain), Hasini Perera (Vice-Captain), Yasoda Mendis, Anushka Sanjeewani, Rebeca Vandort, Nilakshi de Silva, Udeshika Prabodhani, Sugandika Kumari, Oshadi Ranasinghe, Nipuni Hansika, Malsha Shehani, Achini Kulasooriya, Harshitha Madavi, Inoshi Fernando, Inoka Ranaweera