Sri Lanka’s 24-member squad will take part in three T20Is and three ODIs in England beginning June 23, when new skipper Kusal Perera leads the team.
The Sri Lanka Cricket Selection Committee announced on Tuesday the team that will be taking part in the upcoming one-day international (ODI) series against England. Sri Lanka’s chosen squad received approval from the Minister of Youth and Sports, Namal Rajapaksa. The Sri Lanka team will leave the country at the start of June on the 9th of 2021, for both the T20 and ODI matches. Sri Lanka and England will face each other in three T20Is and three ODIs from June 23, the start of their tour of Sri Lanka.
Before all of this came to a head, the Sri Lankan players agreed to tour England without receiving any compensation.
This was shortly after the governing body committed to releasing the player evaluations after the tour of England ends.
To stave off the new contracts, the cricketers have been refusing to play under them.
Nishan Premathiratne, the players’ lawyer, reportedly stated, “This is the transparency the players had been requesting from the start.”
Finally, he said, “They have signed a voluntary declaration but there is nothing stipulating compensation for the players in this tour. They have always shown a willingness to play for Sri Lanka.”
Previously, at least thirty-eight Sri Lankan cricketers had signed a statement protesting their refusal to sign tour contracts, but now the number has increased to at least forty-two players.
The Sri Lankans will depart on Tuesday evening for England, where they will play three T20Is and three ODIs starting June 23.
The Sri Lankan Kusal Perera-led team had recently lost a 3-game ODI series against Bangladesh, where they went 1-2.
This Sri Lanka squad for the upcoming test series versus England is made up of batsman Kusal Perera, bowler Kusal Mendis, all-rounder Danushka Gunathilaka, middle-order batsman Avishka Fernando, hard-hitting lower-order batsman Pathum Nissanka, wicketkeeper Dhananjaya de Silva, seamer Oshada Fernando, pace bowler Ramesh Mendis, middle-order batsman Dasun Shanaka, young opener Dushmantha Chameera, quick bowler Isuru Udana, wrist-spinner Shiran Fernando, wicketkeeper Lakshan Sandakan, and medium-pace bowler Akila Dananjaya.
