ICC World Cup 2019 – Match 16: BAN vs SL – Sri Lanka Predicted Playing XI

After an inspirational win over Afghanistan, Sri Lanka’s last encounter against Pakistan was washed out without a ball bowled. It was disappointing but Sri Lanka would have been happy with the one point that they’ve got under their belt. Such has been the recent standard of their cricket. The team gears up to face Bangladesh in their next encounter in Bristol.

Even before the game has begun, Nuwan Pradeep is ruled out. The pacer was exceptional in the game against Afghanistan and picked up a four-wicket haul. This is a huge blow for Sri Lanka and this also prompts for a forced change to their eleven which could upset their plans slightly.

Here is the Predicted Playing XI for Sri Lanka:

Openers (Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Kusal Perera (wk))

While he might not be scoring runs at an express pace, Dimuth Karunaratne has looked to hold things together in this Sri Lankan batting order. This is a good approach looking at the way things have panned out in recent times. He is the best man to be the anchor in this batting order and should stick to the same role.

Kusal Perera will continue to open the innings after his exploits against Afghanistan. He scored 78 runs in that game and took the team off to a flyer. But since the middle-order is not as bankable, Perera should be slightly more careful and should look to curb his aggressive instinct early on. He must get the side off the good starts on a consistent basis.

Middle Order (Lahiru Thirimanne, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews)

While he got out for 4 runs against New Zealand, Thirimanne looked to be in decent touch against Afghanistan. He scored 25 runs in that game but it is important for him to convert those starts into big scores rather than throwing it away. Thirimanne is expected to bat the number three in the batting order.

The last two games have been disastrous for both Kusal Mendis and Angelo Mathews. The senior-most batsman in the side has bagged two consecutive ducks and got off to a worst possible start. Mendis, on the other hand, bagged a duck in the first game and followed that up with a 2 in the previous match. Both these players have got to be more careful and responsible about their approach.

All Rounders (Dhananjaya de Silva, Thisara Perera, Jeevan Mendis, Isuru Udana)

Even Dhananjaya de Silva ended up getting out for a duck against Afghanistan. That was the case with most of the batsmen except the top-three. Thisara Perera, meanwhile, was run-out after an ugly mix-up. They can’t afford to commit such mistakes and it’d have been highly embarrassing had Sri Lanka lost that match. The batting all-rounders should play more sensibly.

With Nuwan Pradeep ruled out, Jeevan Mendis is the most likely to take his place. He adds depth to the batting order and bowls good leg-spin. But he’s got to be wary of the fact that there are quite a few left-handers in the opposition and should plan his strategies accordingly. Isuru Udana will be the other all-rounder in the team. He is usually quite economical and does a fair job with the bat as well.

Bowlers (Suranga Lakmal, Lasith Malinga)

Suranga Lakmal has been one of the most economical Sri Lankan bowlers in the tournament. But he is yet to pick up a wicket and will hope to do so against Bangladesh. Lasith Malinga, on the other hand, would have gained some confidence after the three-wicket haul that he picked against Afghanistan. He will be the most important member of the Sri Lankan attack in the upcoming game.