Sri Lanka announced their squad for ICC World Cup Qualifiers 2023

Sri Lanka, after winning their three-match ODI series against Afghanistan, recently announced their 15-player squad for the ICC World Cup Qualifiers 2023 fixtures, which are going to start in Zimbabwe on June 18, 2023. Dasun Shanka will be leading the team in the qualifiers, and former Sri Lankan captain and legend Mahila Jayawardene, who is now a consultant coach for the national team, will be traveling with the team for the qualifiers. The team was approved by the Sri Lankan Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs, Roshan Ranasinghe. Kusal Mendis would be the vice captain.

Matheesha Pathirana has been inducted into the team for the qualifiers. He is popularly known in cricket as “Baby Malinga” for his bowling action, which looks similar to that of Sri Lankan cricket legend Lasith Malinga. He impressed everyone with his bowling spells in the IPL while playing for Chennai Super Kings, due to which he recently played his debut ODI match for Sri Lanka against Afghanistan, though he didn’t perform as expected in the first match he played and was later dropped from the playing XI for the next match. All-rounder Angelo Mathews was not selected in the team for the ICC World Cup 2023 qualifiers.

Here are the 15 players selected for the 2023 qualifier squad:

Dasun Shanaka (c), Kusal Mendis (vc & wk), Dimuth Karunaratne, Pathum Nissanka, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Sadeera Samarawickrama (wk), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Dushmantha Chameera, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara, Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana, Dushan Hemantha

The spin wizard of the Sri Lankan cricket team, Wanindu Hasaranga, and pace sensation Dushmantha Chameera are both selected in the team. The ICC World Cup qualifiers include 10 teams that will be competing for the two spots in the ICC World Cup 2023 match, which is going to happen in India. Ten teams will be seen in action in the qualifiers. Those 10 teams are:

Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, the West Indies, Ireland, Scotland, Nepal, the USA, the Netherlands, Oman, and the UAE

Read More: ICC Cricket World Cup qualifiers 2023 full team list, Matches, Players, Fixtures