Kusal Mendis and Kaushal Silva likely to be axed for the Test series against India

The selectors of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) are most likely to drop Kusal Mendis and Kaushal Silva for the upcoming Test series against India. The island nation is set to play a return series against the Men in Blue which comprises of three Tests, and as many ODIs and T20Is. The squad for the Test series is yet to be announced officially but the team has been finalised by the selectors. The team is visiting India on the back of a sensational series win over Pakistan in UAE and would love to continue in the same vein.

Silva has been the opening partner of Dimuth Karunaratne for a long time now and was struggling to score runs at the top. He could not score a single half-century in four innings against Pakistan and also endured a poor series at home against India. Kusal Mendis too has looked ordinary across all formats and finally has been dropped. The team management persisted with him at no. 3 despite his poor returns but Mendis failed to repay the faith shown in him.

Dhananjaya De Silva to open

Cricket Age reported the news of Mendis and Silva being dropped from the longest format of the game. Dhananjaya De Silva, Dasun Shanaka and the young Sadeera Samarawickrama are slated to be included in the squad which will travel India for the Test series. De Silva might open alongside the in-form Karunaratne who rocked with the bat in UAE. He has been rewarded for his consistency against West Indies A side. On the other hand, Samarawickrama also has impressed everyone with his positivity in his batting. He proved his worth in the limited opportunities he received during their tour to UAE.

Dasun Shanaka, the hard hitter who was part of the recently concluded T20I series has been a surprise inclusion in the squad. Though he has been in form in whites and had smashed a whirlwind century against West Indies A team in the second unofficial Test. Now it remains to be seen if Sri Lanka can compete with the number 1 side in the longest format after being washed out in the last series against them.