Sri Lanka have included the injured Muttiah Muralitharan and Dilhara Fernando in their squad for the forthcoming tour of England, but the selectors have included three extra players as a safeguard. Seam bowler Eric Upashantha, allrounder Upul Chandana and unknown fast bowler Ishara Amarasinghe have been added to the provisional squad of 15 named earlier in the month. The Sri Lankans arrive in London on Sunday (April 21) and the first Test starts at Lord's on May 16. Murali, who will undergo an operation in Melbourne later this week, has been given almost no chance of playing in that match, but it is hoped that he will be available in time for at least one of the other two Tests and certainly the tri-nation one-day series which follows.

There are also concerns over the fitness of seamer Dilhara Fernando who withdrew from the Sharjah Cup complaining of stiffness in his back but, like Murali, it is hoped he will join the squad at a later date

The Sri Lankan board also announced that South African Barry Richards would act as a specialist batting coach during the tour, the third time he has worked with the team.

"Richards will join our team in England and this is good news for the batsmen, who will benefit from his guidance," said a board spokesman.

Sri Lankan squad Sanath Jayasuriya (capt), Marvan Atapattu, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Mahela Jayawardene, Russel Arnold, Hashan Tillekeratne, Aravinda de Silva, Thilan Samaraweera, Chaminda Vaas, Charitha Buddika, Nuwan Zoysa, Ruchira Perera, Prasanna Jayawardene, Eric Upashantha, Upul Chandana, Muttiah Muralitharan, Dilhara Fernando, Ishara Amarasinghe.

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