Sri Lanka Cricket announce 18-man squad for Test series against Australia

Sri Lanka have announced an 18-man squad for the Test series against Australia. The Dimuth Karunaratne-led side will compete across two matches at the Galle International Stadium, beginning on June 29.

After impressing in the ODI series, Pathum Nissanka earned a recall back into the Test circuit. The batter last played in the first Test against India in Mohali and was not a part of the series against Bangladesh.

The core of the batting unit continues to be Kusal Mendis, Oshada Fernando, Dhananjaya de Silva and Angelo Mathews.

Niroshan Dickwella and Dinesh Chandimal are the two wicket-keeping options for Sri Lanka in the series.

Dushmanta Chameera and Lahiru Kumara continue to be absentees as the fast bowling unit is led by Chamika Karunaratne and left-arm seamer Vishwa Fernando.

The island nation have named a plethora of spinners in the squad, who are expected to bowl the majority of the overs. The likes of Lasith Embuldeniya and Praveen Jayawickrama lead the list while uncapped youngster Jeffrey Vandersay continues to be a part of the Test squad.

On their previous tour to the island nation in 2016, Australia succumbed to spin bowling, suffering a 3-0 whitewash in the process. Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath wreaked havoc by claiming 28 wickets in the three-match series.

Dunith Wellalage, who featured for his nation in the 2022 U-19 World Cup as well as the recently concluded ODI series, is among the standby players along with Lakshita Rasanjana.

Sri Lanka are currently placed fourth in the World Test Championship (WTC) standings. After a 2-0 drubbing against India, the Karunaratne-led team bounced back to win 1-0 in Bangladesh.

Sri Lanka Test squad for two-match Test series against Australia

Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Pathum Nissanka, Oshada Fernando, Angelo Mathews, Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Kamindu Mendis, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Ramesh Mendis, Chamika Karunaratne, Kasun Rajitha, Vishwa Fernando, Asitha Fernando, Dilshan Madushanka, Praveen Jayawickrama, Lasith Embuldeniya, Jeffrey Vandersay

The upcoming Test series marks the final leg of the all-format tour. Australia won the T20 series by a 2-1 margin while the hosts fought back hard to claim the ODI series.