Sri Lanka have handed a Test debut to fast bowler Isitha Wijesundara for the second Test against the West Indies, which starts Thursday in North Sound as the visitors look to bounce back in the two-match series.
The playing XI is Nishan Madushka, Lahiru Udara, Dinesh Chandimal, Kamindu Mendis, captain Dhananjaya de Silva, Kusal Mendis, Sonal Dinusha, Prabath Jayasuriya, Milan Rathnayake, Wijesundara and Asitha Fernando.
Four players are unavailable through injury or illness. Lahiru Kumara is continuing his rehabilitation from a Grade 1 strain to his right hamstring, while Vishwa Fernando has been ruled out after a recurrence of lower back, trunk and hip pain during the tour warm-up match. Ramesh Mendis is recovering from a bacterial infection contracted on tour.
Pathum Nissanka, the team’s most in-form top-order batter, was also ruled out with persistent wrist pain following the first Test. He travelled to the United Kingdom on June 30 to undergo surgery.
The spate of absences leaves the 15-member squad named in mid-June with only bare cover in the pace and all-round positions. Wijesundara, a right-arm quick who has been part of Sri Lanka’s development pipeline for several seasons, becomes the second pace bowler to receive a Test cap under Dhananjaya de Silva’s captaincy this year.
The West Indies, captained by Roston Chase, will be seeking to level the two-match series after Sri Lanka took the first Test.
