SL vs Ind 1st WTC Test – Dhananjaya de Silva explains Niroshan Dickwella and Lahiru Kumara picks

There are few players in Sri Lanka who polarize opinion as much as Dickwella, and his critics this week pointed to his record – primarily a batting average of 31 after 96 Test innings – and wondered aloud why younger players were not given a chance.

De Silva explained that Dickwella’s retention was what influenced the players’ selection as they weighed their options for a replacement for the injured Kusal Mendis.

With the track in Galle expected to be flatter than usual, it will be particularly important for Sri Lanka to convert their wicket-taking opportunities. However, Dickwella will play this Test under a particularly unforgiving spotlight.

“The decision to call up Dickwella is a decision we made with the coach and the players, and they all agreed,” De Silva said. “We had the opportunity to give another player a chance, but as the keeper with the best gloves, Dickwella came through.”

The last time India played Sri Lanka in 2022, Kumara suffered an injury midway through the period and left the field on the first day of action in Mohali. Sri Lanka lost both matches by an innings and a lot.

“As a country and as a team, we don’t have a large pool of players that we can try out,” De Silva said. “At the moment in Sri Lanka, there is no player who can replace Lahiru Kumara in the team.

“He is the fastest bowler we have in red-ball cricket. Unfortunately, he was injured in the West Indies, and we lost the series that we could have won by 1-0. Hopefully, he will use that as motivation and do something big for us in this series.”