Sri Lanka Cricket Team 15-Man Squad For T20 World Cup 2022

Fresh off the back of winning the Asia Cup ten days ago, Sri Lanka has named a strong 15-man squad for their T20 World Cup 2022 campaign.

Three weeks ago, Sri Lankan T20 cricket was in disarray. Poor results in recent series against Australia and India meant they hadn’t won a T20 series since failing to progress beyond the group stage in the 2021 T20 World Cup, and had the side sitting at one of their lowest ever T20I rankings. Fast forward a few weeks, and strong performances against Bangladesh, India, Afghanistan and Pakistan have seen Sri Lanka romp through to their sixth Asia Cup crown, with some much needed confidence injected into their T20 game.

Riding this momentum, Sri Lanka has named a squad for the World Cup that is unchanged from the Asia Cup, with the exception of players who missed the tournament through injury. Lahiru Kumara return to the fold, while Matheesha Pathirana, Nuwan Thushara and Asitha Fernando miss out.

Here is our breakdown of the 15-man Sri Lanka 2022 T20 World Cup squad, with each selection analysed on a position by position basis.

Sri Lanka’s 15-man squad for the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia

Pathum Nissanka, Dasun Shanaka (captain), Dhananjaya de Silva, Wanindu Hasaranga, Ashen Bandara, Charith Asalanka, Kusal Mendis, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Maheesh Theekshana, Chamika Karunaratne, Lahiru Kumara, Pramod Madushan, Jeffrey Vandersay, Binura Fernando, Kasun Rajitha.

Batsmen – Bowling Heavy Side Means Only One Specialist

Sri Lanka’s depth in all-rounder and wicket keeping options, combined with the fact that they have opted to take seven specialist bowlers, mean they only bring one specialist batsmen with them to Australia next month.

The one specialist batsmen named by Sri Lanka for the T20 World Cup in October is:

What Sri Lanka’s batting may lack in quantity, it makes up for in quality through Pathum Nissanka.

Nissanka was one of the most impressive players in the Asia Cup 2022 with the bat. The 24-year-old struck 173 runs across his six innings, with four 20+ scores, including two half centuries. His performance of 52 off 37 against India was particularly strong, striking at 140+ against a quality bowling line up in a pressure game.

Overall, Nissanka has 801 T20I runs across his 29 matches. The top order batsman has the ability to score quickly as his innings against India show cased, however, he can also play the anchor role, with a strike rate of 115.58 across his career so far. His average of 29.67 and high score of 75 speak to his calibre, and Sri Lanka will be eager for him to kick on and produce some more match winning performances at the 2022 T20 World Cup this year.

Overall stats for Sri Lanka Players in T20Is - Batsmen

T20I stats for Sri Lanka players in Australia - Batsmen

All Rounders – Impressive Depth with Bat and Ball

Supporting their solitary specialist batsman, Sri Lanka has selected five all round options ahead of next month’s World Cup, three of which are batting all rounders.

Here are the five all round options Sri Lanka has selected for the 2022 T20 World Cup:

Here is where the real Sri Lankan strength lies, with their five all rounders possessing 212 T20I caps between them.

Captain Dasun Shanaka leads from the front, having represented his country at this level 74 times before. As a batting all rounder, Shanaka has collected a modest 20 wickets across his T20I career, with top figures of 3/16 and an unflattering economy of 8.14 overall. His batting, however, is strong, with 1126 T20I runs to his name. A high score of 74 and an average of 20.85 at a strike rate of 118.53 mean that Shanaka is a real asset to Sri Lanka in the middle order.

Following Shanaka is all rounder Wanindu Hasaranga who has played 46 T20Is and picked 75 wickets so far. Ashen Bandara is a middle-order batter who has played 4 T20Is so far in which he has scored 84 runs. Hasanranga on the other hand, excels with the ball having claimed 71 T20I wickets in 44 matches, at an economy of 6.73. With figures of 4/9 in T20Is and 5/18 in the IPL, 25-year-old Hasaranga is a world class wicket taker, who is handy with the bat too—scoring just under 500 T20I runs to date, with his highest innings being a knock of 71.

Dhanajaya de Silva and Charith Asalanka are the two relatively inexperienced T20I all rounder options for Sri Lanka. This speaks to their depth, given that de Silva has 45 Tests, 60 ODIs and 25 T20Is, while even Asalanka has three Tests, 16 ODIs and 24 T20Is. De Silva joins as a batting all rounder, and though he only has 449 runs at an average of 20.41 and strike rate of 108.72 in T20Is, his 4000+ runs and 70+ wickets in Tests and ODIs speaks to his calibre. Asalanka on the other hand has 530 runs from his 24 T20Is, with an average of 24.09 at 119.64.

Overall stats for Sri Lanka Players in T20Is - All-Rounders

T20I stats for Sri Lanka players in Australia - All-Rounders

Wicketkeepers – Excellent Batting Options

Sri Lanka has opted to take the regular two wicket keeping options in their 15-man squad travelling to Australia, with both men providing excellent batting options as well as the ability to keep wickets.

The two players provide wicketkeeping options for Sri Lanka this T20 World Cup are:

Sri Lanka’s experience continues through Kusal Mendis, who has 182 appearances for his country across the formats. His 41 T20Is have produced 836 runs, making the wicket keeper a very handy contributor with the bat as well as behind the stumps. The 27-year-old strikes at a healthy rate of 126.48, and averages 20.9.

Joining him as either a reserve wicket keeper or additional batting option in Sri Lanka’s line up, is 30-year-old Bhanuka Rajapaksa. With 27 T20Is to his name, Rajapaksa has proven himself to be a fiery batter, scoring his 541 T20I runs at a rate of 139.43. This aggression won him an IPL contract with the Punjab Kings this year, where he played nine times for 206 runs at an impressive 159.69 strike rate. Expect Rajapaksa to contribute to the Sri Lankan effort with the bat, even if his services behind the stumps aren’t required.

Overall stats for Sri Lanka Players in T20Is - Wicket Keepers

T20I stats for Sri Lanka players in Australia - Wicket Keepers

Bowlers – Strong Attack With Support Options

Sri Lanka’s approach at this World Cup is becoming clear—bowl well. A total of seven specialist bowlers have been selected, making up almost half of the total squad and providing excellent depth and options with the ball.

The seven specialist bowling options for Sri Lanka’s 2022 T20 World Cup campaign are as follows:

Fast bowlers Lahiru Kumara return to the Sri Lankan team after time away injured. Kumara is less experienced in this format, but has taken 23 wickets from his 19 T20I caps. He has 70 Test wickets however, so the 25-year-old is an asset in any bowling attack.

Sri Lanka’s fast bowling options are rounded out by Chamika Karunaratne, Binura Fernando and Pramod Madushan. 28-year-old Madushan retains his place in the squad having debuted recently at the Asia Cup, taking six wickets in the tournament from his six overs. 22-year-old Madushanka also debuted at the recent tournament, getting a little more game time than Madushan, with appearances in all six of Sri Lanka’s games. His economy of 7.8 was respectable, as was his contribution of six wickets, with his best performance 3/24. Balancing out the two fresh fast bowlers is Karunaratne, who brings the experience of 31 T20Is which have delivered 18 wickets.

Complimenting Sri Lanka’s strong pace attack are two spin options in Maheesh Theekshana and Jeffrey Vandersay. Theekshana’s right arm off break has won him an IPL contract, where he took 12 wickets for the Chennai Super Kings this season. At an international level, the 22-year-old has taken 22 T20I wickets from his 24 appearances, at an impressive economy of 6.52. Joining him in the spin department is right arm leggie Vandersay, who is relatively inexperienced in T20Is, with seven wickets from 14 matches. However, his 25 ODI wickets have shown how capable the 32-year-old is, and he provides a strong option from the bench.

Overall stats for Sri Lanka Players in T20Is - Bowlers

T20I stats for Sri Lanka players in Australia - Bowlers

Check T20 World Cup 2022 Squads For Other Teams