Fast bowler Suranga Lakmal has returned to the 15-member Sri Lanka Test squad for the two-match series against Zimbabwe, starting at Harare Sports Club on January 19, after missing out the last Test series in Pakistan in December having contracted dengue. Lakmal has replaced Asitha Fernando who was named as replacement for Lakmal for the Pakistan tour.
Lakmal has been spearheading the Sri Lankan bowling in Test matches in last few years. He has played 59 Tests so far, picking 141 wickets. He may not strike as a bowler of the category of the speedsters like Brett Lee or Shoaib Akhtar or of the equation of uncanny bowlers like Glenn McGrath or James Anderson but he definitely is a mighty fine bowler than what his Test bowling average of close to 40 suggests of him. His last two fifers in Christchurch (5 for 54 against New Zealand) and Gabba (5 for 75 against Australia) serve as a perfect testament to his calibre, especially in overseas sojourns.
Dimuth Karunaratne will lead the team that will leave for Zimbabwe on January 15 to play two Tests in Harare from January 19-23 and from January 27-31. The Tests are not part of the ICC Test Championships.
Zimbabwe has not played a Test match since November 2018 when they made a two-Test tour to Bangladesh and performed exceptionally well to draw the series one-all.
Sean Williams will lead Zimbabwe in the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka after being named to the post in the first week of this month. He takes over from Hamilton Masakadza who led them in the series against Bangladesh before retiring from the game to accept the post of Zimbabwe Cricket’s director of cricket.
