Hashan Tillakaratne, 33, has been recalled into a 22-man Sri Lankan national training squad for the forthcoming One-International Triangular tournament against India and New Zealand in July and the three-match Test series against India in August.
The newly appointed selection committee added seven names to the 15-man squad that participated in Sharjah last month during a long discussion last night. The other players added to the squad were Aravinda de Silva, Suresh Perera, Dulip Liyanage, and three left arm spinners: Dinuk Hettiarachchi, Niroshan Bandaratillake, and Sanjeewa Weerakoon.
The Chairman of the five-man Selection Committee, Tikiri Banda Kehelgamuwa, said that he expected that the 15-man one-day squad to form the rump of the squad for the triangular series. Aravinda de Silva and Hashan Tillakaratne and the other five players are in contention for the Indian Test series.
Nevertheless, Kehegamuwa, refused to rule out the possibility of changes, handing out an olive branch to members of the A team, who will take on Pakistan A in a three-Test/ODI series in June.
Hashan Tillakaratne was dropped from both the one-day and Test national squads after the 1999 World Cup in England, when the selectors embarked upon a youth policy. The selectors reiterated their commitment towards youth again this week, but the could not ignore Tillakaratne, who impressed throughout the domestic season, scoring three centuries and 665 runs at an average of 110.
It is, however, unlikely that both Aravinda de Silva and Hashan Tillakaratne will both find a place in the final Test team.
Sanjeewa Weerakoon, 21, an accurate left arm spinner, is the only player to have not played a Test or ODI for Sri Lanka in the 22-man squad. He gets his chance after topping the bowling averages this year, having taken 79 wickets for Burgher Recreation Club, including three ten-wicket match hauls. He will face tough competition, however, for a place, with both Hettiarachchi and Banadaratillake in the squad too.
The two fast bowlers, Dulip Liyanage and Suresh Perera, are recalled after a period of absence precipitated through injury. Liyanage, a sharp operator who swings the ball away from the right handers, suffered an ankle injury after playing in eight Test matches in the mid 1990's, but was back to his best this year, taking 66 wickets in 11 games.
Suresh Perera suffered from a stress fracture of his back after impressing on his debut against England at the Oval in 1998 and has struggled to regain his form and confidence since. He is though valued highly by the management, despite only taking 19 wickets this season.
Both players are useful with the bat - Liyange averaged 22 this season for Colts CC and Perera averaged 31 for the Sinhalese Sports Club - and would strengthen the lower order, making them ideal candidates for the one-day side.
The squad have already commenced training in Colombo.
© CricInfo
| Teams | Sri Lanka. |
| Players/Umpires | Hashan Tillakaratne, Sajeewa Weerakoon, Dinuka Hettiarachchi, Dulip Liyanage. |
| Internal Links | Training Squad. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Results - Forthcoming Desktop Scoreboard |
|
|
|
||||||
| |||
|
| |||
| |||
| |||
| |||
| |||
| |||
|
