The Board of Control for cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL) announced a 15-man squad for Sri Lanka's forthcoming three-Test tour of England on Tuesday night.
As revealed by CricInfo at the weekend, Aravinda de Silva, 36, has been recalled for the tour starting 26 April at Canterbury, Kent – his home for two seasons in the mid-1990s.
Otherwise, the only surprise is the omission of Romesh Kaluwitharana, veteran of 40 Tests and 170 ODIs, casting serious doubt over his Test future.
Kauwitharana has been replaced by Prasanna Jayawardene, 22, who is widely regarded as the best wicket-keeper in the country, although a less naturally talented batsman.
However, Jayawardene will only be traveling as replacement wicket-keeper, as Kumar Sangakkara remains the first choice gloveman.
The selectors will pick a further pace bowler shortly to increase the squad to 16, probably in Sharjah when they a have seen how Pulasthi Gunaratne reacts to the pressures of international cricket.
Dilhara Fernando, potentially Sri Lanka's most destructive fast bowler, has been selected for the tour but he first needs to recover from a bank injury. No replacements have been named.
The selectors will make changes to the squad for the Natwest one-day series that follows the Test matches and are expected to announce those changes after Sharjah.
© CricInfo
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