The tall, gangling 6 ft, 3 ins tall Isipatana MV bowler has bowled with great hostility and pace, during the current Sara trophy season to capture 27 wickets at an average of 16.59 from six matches and take his club SSC to the top of the table.
Soysa is expected to get the nod ahead of experienced campaigner and SSC new ball partner Pramodya Wickremasinghe, who this season has taken 25 wickets (avg. 18.68) from seven matches.
BELOW EXPECTATIONS
Wickremasinghe has failed to live upto expectations as the main strike bowler of the Sri Lannka team - a mantle which has been taken over by another left-arm fast bowler, Chaminda Vaas since the last tour of New Zealand in March 1995.
Comparative figures between the two bowlers reveal that while junior partner Vaas, who started his Test career three years after Wickremasinghe, has taken 54 wickets (avg. 23.87) in 14 Tests, Wickremasinghe has taken only 46 wickets (avg. 48.26) from 23 Tests.
The Sri Lanka squad is expected to comprise four fast-medium bowlers - the other two being NCC's Ravindra Pushpakumara and Sajeeva de Silva, and probably three spinners - Muthiah Muralitharan, Kumara Dharmasena and Jayantha Silva or Upul Chandana, which doesn't leave room for Ruwan Kalpage.
'B' SIDE CAPTAIN
Kalpage, we understand will be asked to captain the Sri Lanka 'A' side to Bangladesh for the SAF Quadrangular tournament in Bangladesh from February 19-28.
The national selectors are expected to name two different squads for New Zealand.
They have been granted permission by the Sri Lanka Cricket Board's ExCo to make any changes required for the series of three one-day internationals following the two Tests against New Zealand.
The 15-member squad to be announced this week will play the first leg of the New Zealand tour which comprises two Tests and two side games -- a 2-day match and a 3-day match, starting on February 27, after which two members are expected to return home and be replaced by two others for the 3-match one-day international series against the Kiwis, starting on March 22.
GREAT SUCCESS
This policy adopted during last year's tour of Pakistan with great success, when Sri Lanka came from behind on two occasions to win both the Test and one-day series by 2-1 margins.
The selectors have been given the go-ahead by the ExCo to select Asanka Gurusinha. The one-drop left-hander has been asked to report home by February 8 to be considered for selection after being imposed a fine of fifty percent of his fees on last November's Sharjah tournament and earning a severe reprimand for speaking to the media without prior permission. Gurusinha is currently playing for North Melbourne club in Australia.
The probable 15 to New Zealand: A. Ranatunga (captain), R.S. Mahanama, S.T. Jayasuriya, A.P. Gurusinha, P.A. de Silva, H.P. Tillekeratne, M.S. Atapattu, R.S. Kaluwitharana, H.D.P.K. Dharmasena, M. Muralitharan, K.J. Silva or U.U. Chandana, U.C.J. Vaas, K.R. Pushpakumara, S.C. de Silva, N. Soysa or G.P. Wickremasinghe.