Sri Lanka name four uncapped players in 17-man Test squad for West Indies tour in June

Sri Lanka opening batsman Mahela Udawatte has been called into a 17-man test squad for next month’s tour to West Indies, along with three other uncapped players, Kasun Rajitha, Jeffrey Vandersay and Asitha Fernando.

File image of Sri Lanka team. AP

The 31-year-old Udawatte will hope to get his first opportunity in the longest format, more than 10 years after his one-day international debut in West Indies.

Regular opener Dimuth Karunaratne remains on the sidelines with a fractured finger, and fast bowlers Dushmantha Chameera and Nuwan Pradeep are out with back and hamstring issues respectively.

The national selectors have also included senior players Angelo Mathews and Suranga Lakmal but their participation in the tour is subject to fitness.

“Mathews and Lakmal are not unfit as such,” Sri Lanka’s chief selector Graeme Labrooy told ESPNcricinfo.

“In fact they are fit, but we wanted to see if they were match-fit. The team is at a training camp in Pallekele, so we’ll give them until May 14 before we make a final decision on those two players.”

The first of three tests begins on 6 June at Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain.

Full squad:

Dinesh Chandimal (captain), Mahela Udawatte, Kusal Mendis, Kusal Janith Perera, Dhananjaya de Silva, Roshen Silva, Angelo Mathews, Niroshan Dickwella, Rangana Herath, Dilruwan Perera, Akila Dananjaya, Jeffrey Vandersay, Lahiru Gamage, Kasun Rajitha, Suranga Lakmal, Lahiru Kumara, Asitha Fernando.