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Oshada Fernando returns to the red-ball fold as Nishan Madushka misses out on a spot in Sri Lanka's 16-player squad for the two-match Test series against New Zealand at home, beginning on Wednesday.
Oshada is returning to the Sri Lanka team after 18 months of absence. The top-order batter returns after his impressive showing with the A team, who are touring South Africa as of now. In the first unofficial Test of the two-match series, Oshada produced a Player of the Match performance after smashing 122 and 80, guiding Sri Lanka's A side to victory. Madushka made way for Oshada following his underwhelming run with the bat. During Sri Lanka's recently concluded three-match away Test series against England, Madushka posted scores of 4, 0, 7, and 13 in the two Tests. He was dropped for the third Test match after his lean patch of form. Even though Oshada returns to the squad, he might find it hard to break through into the playing XI. Dimuth Karunaratne, Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva, and Kamindu Mendis are all likely to retain their place in the playing XI for Sri Lanka in the New Zealand series. Ramesh Mendis is likely to emerge as a player to fill in the number eight spot. The remaining three slots are likely to be occupied by spinner Prabath Jayasuriya and two seamers, considering the spin-friendly conditions. Both Tests will take place in Galle. After the first Test concludes, the second match will begin on September 26. Sri Lanka Test squad against New Zealand: Dhananjaya de Silva (capt), Dimuth Karunaratne, Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Kamindu Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Oshada Fernando, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Prabath Jayasuriya, Ramesh Mendis, Jeffrey Vandersay, Milan Rathnayake. (ANI)
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