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Sri Lanka captain Dhananjaya de Silva has backed experienced wicketkeeper-batter Niroshan Dickwella to make an impact against India, saying his glovework was the primary reason behind his call to the Test squad for the opening match of the two-Test series in Galle.
India and Sri Lanka will face off in the first Test of the series at the Galle International Cricket Stadium on Saturday, with both teams looking to strengthen their position in the ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 cycle. "The only thing I have to tell Niroshan Dickwella is to keep well. That's why he's in the team," de Silva said on the eve of the Test in the press conference. Dickwella, who has played 54 Tests, returns to the Sri Lankan Test squad after spending the last few years out of the side. He has scored 2,757 Test runs at an average of 30.97, with a highest score of 96. De Silva explained that the conditions at Galle made wicketkeeping an important consideration while selecting the playing XI. "Dickwella had to leave the Test squad over the last few years because Kusal Mendis went to No. 7, and Kusal has played well there in the last few years, so Dickwella didn't get a chance to come back," de Silva said. "But when you play at Galle, the most important thing is that the player with the best glovework plays," he added. De Silva also backed fast bowler Lahiru Kumara, who has been included despite an injury-hit recent outing. The 28-year-old has taken 104 wickets in 35 Tests and is regarded as Sri Lanka's quickest option in red-ball cricket. Kumara suffered a hamstring injury after bowling just one over against the West Indies in June and missed the remainder of that series. "As a country and as a team, we don't have a huge pool of players that we can experiment with," de Silva said. "Right now in Sri Lanka, there's no bowler who can replace Lahiru Kumara in the squad. He's the fastest bowler we have playing red-ball cricket," he added. He further added, "Unfortunately, he got injured in the West Indies, and a series that we could have won became a 1-0 defeat. Hopefully, he will use that as motivation, and he will do something big for us in this series." Sri Lanka have played four Tests in the ongoing WTC cycle and sit sixth with a points percentage of 41.67, while India are fifth with 48.15. With home conditions expected to bring spin into play, Sri Lanka will hope their experienced campaigners can deliver against an Indian side led by Shubman Gill. India Test Squad: Shubman Gill (c), KL Rahul (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Devdutt Padikkal, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Manav Suthar, Saransh Jain, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Auqib Nabi, Sarfaraz Khan. Sri Lanka Test Squad: Dhananjaya De Silva (captain), Lahiru Udara, Nishan Madushka, Kamindu Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal, Pasindu Sooriyabandara, Sonal Dinusha, Niroshan Dickwella, Ramesh Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Keshara Nuwantha, Milan Rathnayake, Asitha Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Vishwa Fernando, Dilshan Madushanka. (ANI)
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