5 July 2022 09:00 am Views - 2794
Sri Lanka have bolstered their spin bowling options ahead of the second Test against Australia in Galle on Friday, calling up uncapped spinners Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage and Lakshitha Manasinghe.
The additions come after left arm spinner Praveen Jayawickrama tested positve for Covid-19 last morning, with a Rapid Antigen Test administered after the player reported that he was feeling unwell.
Further tests on the rest of the squad and support staff members returned no other Covid-19 positive cases.
Theekshana and Wellalage were part of Sri Lanka's ODI squad that beat Australia thrice in the five match series, while Manasinghe was the leading wicket-taker in Sri Lanka A's two unofficial Tests against Australia A last month.
Of the three, right-arm off-spinner Manasinghe has the more polished First Class record, with 73 wickets in 17 matches at an average of 26.38, most recently turning out for the Sinhalese Sports Club.
In contrast, Theekshana has played just three First Class matches, though that is largely due to his continuous involvement with Sri Lanka's limited over teams.
Wellalage, who now plays for Colts CC, has featured in 11 First Class matches, though his contributions with the Under 19 and Sri Lanka ODI teams this year have been particularly noteworthy.
Left-arm spinner Lasith Embuldeniya, who was the only spinner to go wicket-less in the first Test and returned expensive figures, was released from the squad, with Wellalage the most like-for-like replacement.
It was not all bad news for Sri Lanka, with confirmation that former captain Angelo Mathews has been made available for selection after recovering from Covid-19.
Mathews tested positive for Covid-19 on the third day of the first Test and was replaced by Oshada Fernando.