Harshitha Samarawickrama will captain Sri Lanka at the ICC Women’s Emerging Nations Trophy in the United Arab Emirates, with Chamari Athapaththu absent from the 14-member squad.
The squad was reported by Daily Mirror Sports on Wednesday evening.
Returns and a long-delayed recall
The squad features the returns of Vishmi Gunarathne, Nilakshika Silva and Malki Madara.
Sathya Sandeepani earns a T20I call-up for the first time in six years — the longest gap in the party.
The draw
Sri Lanka have been drawn in Group A alongside Ireland, Scotland, Papua New Guinea and hosts the UAE. They open against Ireland on 12 November in Ajman.
What the captaincy change means
Athapaththu’s absence is the squad’s most consequential feature. She has been Sri Lanka’s captain and leading batter across formats for years, and the filing does not say whether she was rested, unavailable or omitted.
Samarawickrama has been Sri Lanka’s most consistent top-order batter behind Athapaththu through recent cycles, and the appointment reads as a development posting at a second-tier tournament rather than a change of national captaincy. The filing does not characterise it either way.
Not reported
The filing does not name the other members of the 14-player squad, give a vice-captain, or state the full fixture list beyond the opening match. It does not say whether the tournament is a T20 or 50-over competition, though the reference to a T20I call-up points to the shorter format. It gives no reason for Athapaththu’s absence, no selector’s comment and no coach’s comment, and does not say whether the appointment is for this tournament alone.
Sri Lanka Cricket had not published the squad through a verified newsroom other than the Daily Mirror at the time of writing, and this desk found no second outlet carrying it.
