Lasith Malinga named Sri Lanka captain for ODIs and T20s against New Zealand

Pace ace Lasith Malinga returned as the captain of Sri Lanka's ODI and T20 squads for the New Zealand tour, replacing Dinesh Chandimal.

Published : Dec 14, 2018 15:15 IST

Lasith Malinga will lead the Sri Lanka team in the shorter format.

Pace ace Lasith Malinga returned as the captain of Sri Lanka's ODI and T20 squads for the New Zealand tour, replacing Dinesh Chandimal. Niroshan Dickwella has been named his deputy. Sri Lanka's President, Maithripala Sirisena, approved the 17-member squad on Friday, in absence of a functioning sports minister.

While Malinga returned as the captain, Angelo Mathews, Dhanushka Gunatilake, Asela Gunaratne, Seekuge Prasanna also made it to the side.

This is a significant development before the IPL auction as Malinga has made himself available in the pool of players and is one of the nine players to feature in the top base-price bracket of Rs 2 crore.

Sri Lanka will play two Tests against New Zealand, starting from Saturday. The three-match ODI series will start from January 3 next year and will continue till January 8. The only T20I will be played at the Eden Park in Auckland on January 11.

The squad: Lasith Malinga (captain), Niroshan Dickwella (vice-captain), Angelo Mathews, Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Janith Perera, Dinesh Chandimal, Asela Gunaratne, Kusal Mendis, Dhaanjaya de Silva, Thisara Perera, Dasun Shanaka, Lakshan Sandakan, Sekkuge Prasanna, Dushmantha Chameera, Kasun Rajitha, Nuwan Pradeep, Lahiru Kumara.