Charith Asalanka Replaces Wanindu Hasaranga as Sri Lanka T20 Captain for India Series

Ahead of their three-match home series against India, Sri Lanka has named batsman Charith Asalanka as their new Twenty20 international skipper. All-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga, who resigned following Sri Lanka’s elimination from the 2024 T20 World Cup group stage, is replaced by Asalanka.

India has scheduled a three-T20I and one-ODI visit to Sri Lanka. Similar to Sri Lanka, India will have Suryakumar Yadav as their new captain. Both players have also assumed the captaincy role in the past; earlier this year, Asalanka captained Sri Lanka in two Twenty20 Internationals against Bangladesh.

Hasaranga and other experienced players like Maheesh Theeksana, Dinesh Chandimal, Dasun Shanaka, and others are still part of the team. There has been no announcement from Sri Lanka Cricket on changes to the captaincy in other forms. The ODI team is captained by Kusal Mendis, while Dhananjaya de Silva leads Sri Lanka in Test matches.

READ MORE: India vs Sri Lanka 2024: Everything You need to know: Squads, Schedule, Streaming Details.

The defending T20 world champions, India, landed on Monday for the first of three T20 matches at Pallekele in Kandy on Saturday. Beginning on August 2, the three-match ODI series will take place in Colombo’s Premadasa Stadium.

For India, the trip marks the start of a new era in many respects, especially for the Twenty20 format. Following the T20 World Cup victory last month, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja all announced their retirements from the game. As he had already promised, Rahul Dravid also resigned following the tournament. Gautam Gambhir took over, and the Sri Lanka trip is Gambhir’s first task in the new role.

Sri Lanka full squad for three-match T20I series vs India

Charith Asalanka (captain), Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Perera, Avishka Fernando, Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal, Kamindu Mendis, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Chamindu Wickramasinghe, Matheesha Pathirana, Nuwan Thushara, Dushmantha Chameera and Binura Fernando