There were no surprises. In picking Tillekeratne and Wickremasinghe, the selectors went apparently on past form hoping that they will come good on tour.
Form against Zimbabwe and England 'A' apparently has had no bearing. Had these two tours been taken into consideration, then at least a couple of new players would have sported Sri Lanka colours.
As mentioned by this writer the four fast men - Chaminda Vaas, Ravindra Pushpakumara, Sajeewa de Silva and Pramodya Wickremasinghe have been included.
With fast and bouncy wickets likely to be laid out, the inclusion of these four pacemen should serve the team well.
Three spinners Muttiah Muralitharan, Kumara Dharmasena and Upul Chandana will support the pacemen.
It probably would have been a toss up between Chandika Hathurusinghe and Russel Arnold for the third opener's spot. Arnold would have got the nod for his consistency.
Mahela Jayawardena who has maintained his consistency with the bat from the time he made his debut 50 against India has been rewarded.
There is no second wicket keeper and skipper Ranatunga will be looking to Tillekeratne to perform that duty.
The tour squad:
Arjuna Ranatunga (capt), Aravinda de Silva, Sanath Jayasuriya, Marvan Atapattu, Roshan Mahanama, Hashan Tillekeratne, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Kumara Dharmasena, Muttiah Muralitheran, Chaminda Vaas, Ravindra Pushpakumar, Sajeewa de Silva, Mahela Jayawardena, Russel Arnold, Upul Chandrana and Pramodaya Wickremasinghe.
Sri Lanka in South Africa: March 7-9 - Sri Lanka vs Transvaal in Johannesburg March 11 - Sri Lanka vs North West in Fochville March 14-16 - Sri Lanka vs Boland in Paarl March 19-23 - Sri Lanka vs South Africa first Test in Cape Town March 27-31 - Sri Lanka vs South Africa, second Test in Centurion Triangular series: From April 3-23 April 3 - South Africa vs Pakistan in Durban April 5 - South Africa vs Sri Lanka in Johannesburg April 7 - Sri Lanka vs Pakistan in Kimberley April 9 - Sri Lanka vs Pakistan in Paarl April 11 - South Africa vs Pakistan in East London April 13 - South Africa vs Sri Lanka in Port Elizabeth April 15 - 6Sri Lanka vs Pakistan in Benoni April 17 - South Africa vs Pakistan in Centurion April 19 - South Africa vs Sri Lanka in Bloemfontein April 22 - Final in Cape Town April 23 Final (alternate day).