Sri Lanka begin preparations for South African tour

• 22-member squad to undergo nine-day training camp in Pallekele

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

Dilshan Madushanka

Santhush Gunathilaka

A squad of 22 players who will make the tour party to South Africa next month, will undergo a nine-day training camp in Pallekele to acclimatise themselves to the conditions and pitches they will encounter in

Rainbow Nation.

The squad includes two uncapped players from Colts CC, with Sri Lanka Under-19 World Cup cricketer 20-year-old left-arm fast bowler Dilshan Madushanka, who has played 3 first-class matches and taken 10 wickets, which includes figures of 6/33 on his first-class debut against Negombo CC in March this year and 21-year-old all-rounder (right-hand bat and medium-pace) Santhush Gunathilaka who averages 45.33 in nine first-class matches inclusive of two centuries and 6 wickets.

Two other players who have yet to break into Test cricket, but won their Sri Lanka caps in white ball cricket are CCC’s 23-year-old all-rounder (right-hand bat and leg spinner) Wanindu Hasaranga, who has represented his country in 15 ODIs and 13 T20Is and SSC’s 25-year-old wicket-keeper/batsman Minod Bhanuka, who has played in 1 ODI and 2 T20Is.

Ashantha de Mel who will manage the team to South Africa said, “Basically the coaches selected the 22 players and it’s about the right combinations because initially for Bangladesh we were looking at playing on home conditions, but South Africa there is no point in taking too many spinners, but more fast bowlers and a little more batting power is needed.”

Only three spinners are included in the squad – Lasith Embuldeniya, Wanindu Hasaranga and Dilruwan Perera, in comparison to seven fast bowlers.  

“Mickey (Arthur) discussed with me the 22 players needed. This is just Mickey’s thoughts of what should be the combination. I just looked at it and it is still a good squad, they have got a couple of all-rounders, sometimes you may not play any spinners at all, we could play three fast bowlers and maybe a fast bowling all-rounder somebody like Dasun Shanaka or Santhush Gunathilaka to get a better balance,” De Mel said.

“I didn’t do any official selection as there are no official selectors. When Mickey ran the names with me, I said it was okay. He explained the strategy to me and based on the strategy the names that he gave me were good. The coach is doing some training program having collected some players. Other than that, officially we can’t select the team at the moment. It’s not official but the thinking is these are the sort of players we need,” he added.

De Mel said that the team has to be selected and sent to the Ministry of Sports 20 days before the team’s departure. “There are processes you have to go through. You have to send it through a national selection committee, from there to the National Sports Council and then to the Sports Minister.”

The term of De Mel and his co-selectors Chaminda Mendis and Vinothen John ceased some months ago and since then they have not been re-appointed, nor a new selection have been named by the Ministry of Sports. Sri Lanka Cricket has submitted four names including that of the three selectors to the Ministry of Sport and are awaiting a response.

Speaking in his capacity as manager De Mel said, “We are playing in Johannesburg and Centurion; both are fast bouncy pitches and played under high altitude of 6300 feet above sea level. Basically the ball will travel quickly, so you can get hit on your fingers or break a finger, so we need to have standby batsmen as you cannot bring them again, because we are going on a chartered flight.”

According to a news report South Africa has chosen the two venues for two reasons – so that Cricket South Africa can create a bubble between Centurion and Johannesburg and from a cricketing point of view, as it will suit the hosts to play Sri Lanka on the two fastest surfaces in the country, as they have not beaten Sri Lanka in a Test series since 2016-17.

The Lankan cricketers have had no international engagements since March due to COVID-19 and the only competitive cricket they will get before leaving for South Africa is the Lanka Premier League (LPL) T20, which is not the best preparation ahead of a two-Test series.

“It is not the ideal preparation for a Test series, but there is nothing that you can do with the LPL getting postponed time and again,” said De Mel. “The nine-day camp will be very good. They are starting the camp on 13 November in Pallekele which has a high altitude, with the 22 players who will be released on 22 November to play in the LPL. They will be leaving for South Africa on 17 December, a day after the LPL final.”

The LPL was originally scheduled to commence on 28 August and conclude on 22 September, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been postponed four times. It is now due to run from 26 November to 16 December.  

Sri Lanka has a 3-day warm-up match in Benoni before they commence the two-Test series against South Africa on Boxing Day at the Centurion which will be followed by the second Test at Johannesburg from 3 January.

The Sri Lanka tour squad is expected to comprise 22 players and 10 officials (manager, four coaches, physiotherapist, masseur, trainer, analyst and a local doctor).

Probable 22-Member Squad for South Africa

Dimuth Karunaratne, Santhush Gunathilaka, Oshada Fernando, Angelo Mathews, Kusal Mendis, Kusal Janith Perera, Dinesh Chandimal, Niroshan Dickwella, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dilshan Madushanka, Dushmantha Chameera, Lahiru Kumara, Suranga Lakmal, Kasun Rajitha, Vishwa Fernando, Asith Fernando, Lahiru Thirimanne, Lasith Embuldeniya, Dilruwan Perera, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dasun Shanaka, Minod Bhanuka.