Lasith Malinga Returns to the Sri Lankan T20 Squad After Skipping the Pakistan Tour

Lasith Malinga Best Strike Rates

Lasith Malinga has made a comeback to the Sri Lankan T20 squad for the upcoming series against Australia. Malinga had refused to travel to Pakistan citing security reasons and in his absence, Dasun Shanaka had captained the team to a 3-0 victory. But, with Malinga back now, he is likely to take over the captaincy from Shanaka.

Apart from Malinga, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis and Niroshan Dickwella, who had also kept themselves away from the Pakistan tour, have returned to the squad. But, the youngsters who impressed during the Pakistan series have not been left out.

The likes of Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Oshada Fernando, who played match winning innings for Sri Lanka in the second and the third match of the T20 series, have been retained in the squad. The players who have been dropped are Sadeera Samarawickrama, Minod Bhanuka and Lahiru Madushanka.

Rajapaksa and Fernando, whose T20 credentials didn’t weight much ahead of the Pakistan series, displayed an array of strokeplay against the quality Pakistan bowlers, much to the surprise of the local fans who were anticipating an easy victory for their team.

The leg spinner Wanindu Hasaranga also caught everyone’s attention with his subtle variations as he totally outfoxed the Pakistan batsmen with his googlies. None of the Pakistan batsmen was able to pick Hasaranga’s googlies out of the hands as the leggie changed the complexion of the second T20 in a space of 4 deliveries, removing three key middle order batsmen in the Pakistan line-up. All eyes will be on the youngster as he comes across the Australian batsmen who are traditionally not the best players of leg spin.

Although Sri Lanka will still go into the series against Australia as the underdogs as they are a relatively young team and will be playing away from home, they are capable enough to surprise Australia.

Here is the Sri Lankan squad for the T20 series against Australia:
Lasith Malinga, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis, Danushka Gunathilaka, Avishka Fernando, Niroshan Dickwella, Dasun Shanaka, Shehan Jayasuriya, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Oshada Fernando, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lakshan Sandakan, Nuwan Pradeep, Lahiru Kumara, Isuru Udana, Kasun Rajitha

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