Big changes are set to be made to Sri Lanka’s bowling attack ahead of the second Test match against Australia starting on Friday.
Lasith Embuldeniya has been dropped after a dismal showing in the first Test, leaving the door wide for potentially three debutants for the home team.
Praveen Jayawickrama, who was Sri Lanka’s back-up left-arm tweaker has also been ruled out of the second Test due to testing positive for COVID-19 on Monday.
Sri Lanka have selected Mahesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage and Lakshitha Manasinghe for the second Test match against Australia to be played in Galle.
Offspinner Lakshitha Manasinghe is set to be a good prospect for the Sri Lankans, as he collected 13 wickets across two matches against Australia A in the four-day series played at Hambantota.
Theekshana proved to be a handful in the ODI leg of the tour against Australia. His plethora of spin bowling varieties, particularly the carrom ball made life difficult for the Australians who struggled to pick it at times.
Whilst he only took four wickets in five matches, it was evident that runs did not come cheaply from him. The Australians only scored at 4.30 runs per over off his bowling, indicating that he could be a real threat in the red-ball format.
The big name on everyone’s lips though is Dunith Wellalage, the 19-year-old left-arm spinner who made a prolific start to his white-ball career, who was the leading wicket-taker in the ODI series.
If Wellalage gets his Test debut for Sri Lanka on Friday, he will be the country’s second-youngest debutant this century and eleventh youngest overall. A remarkable achievement given his precocious talent.
Wellalage was the captain of Sri Lanka’s Under-19 team and was also the leading bowler in the Under-19 World Cup held in the Caribbean earlier this year.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s most experienced and veteran Test batsman Angelo Mathews has completed his isolation period after he tested positive for COVID-19 in the middle of the first Test and is now available for selection.
