Charith Asalanka to Lead Sri Lanka in First Two Bangladesh T20Is
Charith Asalanka will captain the Sri Lankan national cricket team for the first two Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) against Bangladesh, starting March 4th, due to the absence of regular skipper Wanindu Hasaranga.
Hasaranga received a two-match ban for breaching the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Code of Conduct during the recent T20I series against Afghanistan. He accumulated three demerit points and a 50% fine of his match fee following an incident in the third T20I.
The incident involved Hasaranga approaching umpire Lyndon Hanibal to express dissent regarding an on-field decision.
Hasaranga who was unhappy with umpire’s decision to not call a delievery No-Ball, said, “If it was close it would have been OK but it was so high it was close to striking the batsman’s head. If he cannot see such a thing, this umpire is unfit for international matches and it is better for him to find another job.”
According to ICC rules and regulations, Hasaranga’s statement clearly goes beyond the line as it looks a harsh criticism for umpires who are officials of the game.
However, Hasaranga wasn’t wrong because that was cleary a no-ball but given the context, he could have chosen a more generous way to express his unsatisfaction.
Furthermore, opening batsman Pathum Nissanka, who was initially named in the squad, will not travel to Bangladesh due to an injury sustained during the Afghanistan series. Avishka Fernando has been called up as his replacement.
Asalanka, a 24-year-old right-handed batsman and occasional leg-spinner, has captained Sri Lanka in two previous T20Is, both against India in July 2021. He will be aiming to guide his team to a winning start in the upcoming series against Bangladesh.
Sri Lanka Squad for T20Is against Bangladesh
Charith Asalanka (captain for first 2 T20IS), Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Angelo Mathews, Dasun Shanaka, Avishka Fernando, Wanindu Hasaranga (captain for 3rd T20I, Dhananjaya de Silva, Kusal Janith Perera, Kamindu Mendis, Binura Fernando, Maheesh Theekshana, Dilshan Madushanka, Nuwan Thushara, Matheesha Pathirana, Akila Dananjaya, Jeffrey Vandersay
