Srilanka announces World Cup Squad, Chandimal misses out, Angelo Mathews included

Colombo: A day after naming Dimuth Karunaratne as the captain for the 2019 World Cup, Sri Lanka on Thursday announced their 15-member squad for the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup starting on May 30. 

The selectors appointed Dimuth Karunaratne as the captain, while Angelo Mathews will be vice-captain of Sri Lanka. 

However, the biggest surprise was the exclusion of former captain Dinesh Chandimal, who was leading the side in the 50-overs cricket until October.

Apart from the right-handed batsman, regular wicketkeeper-batsman Niroshan Dickwella, and offspinner Akila Dananjaya also failed to make it into the team. 

The axe from the selectors came after Sri Lanka's recent tour to South Africa, where they succumbed to a 5-0 defeat in the ODI series.

Angelo Mathews, on the other hand, was recalled into the side despite missing most of Sri Lanka's overseas tour last year due to a hamstring strain.

Milinda Siriwardana, Jeffrey Vandersay and Jeevan Mendis also made remarkable comebacks. Siriwardana and Vandersay last played one-day internationals in October 2017, while Jeevan Mendis' previous appearance in the format came in the 2015 World Cup match against Afghanistan.

Earlier on Wednesday, Sri Lanka axed Lasith Malinga as captain and replaced him with Test skipper Dimuth Karunaratne, who has not played an ODI in more than four years.

The 1996 champions Sri Lanka will begin their campaign against New Zealand at the Sophia Gardens, Cardiff on June 1.

Sri Lanka World Cup Squad :

Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Avishka Fernando, Lahiru Thirimanne, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva, Jeffery Vandersay, Thisara Perera, Isuru Udana, Lasith Malinga, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep, Jeevan Mendis, Milinda Siriwardana.(UNI)