Bad news for Sri Lanka ahead of 1st Test vs India in Galle, star player from Delhi Capitals will be...
Sri Lanka will miss a couple of lead batters for the two-match Test series vs India beginning in Galle on Saturday.
Sri Lanka opener Pathum Nissanka turned out for Delhi Capitals in IPL 2026. (Photo: IANS)
India vs Sri Lanka 2026 1st Test: Hosts Sri Lanka are getting ready to begin a two-match Test series against India at Galle from Saturday. The series is part of World Test Championships (WTC) 2025-27 calendar and both sides will be looking to move up the Points Table to keep chances of reaching the final next year alive.
The Indians have not lost a Test series in the Emerald Isles in the last 17 years Lanka's last series win at home coming in 2008. Dhananjaya de Silva's side will be aiming to improve on this second and hope to extend barren run of Shubman Gill's side in WTC.
The home team have suffered a couple of major blows even before the squad for the two-match series can be announced by Sri Lanka Cricket board. Lanka's top batters Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis are set to be ruled out of the series, according to various media reports.
Nissanka, who was bought for Rs 4 crore by Delhi Capitals ahead of IPL 2026 season, has an average of 42.25 while scoring 1310 runs in 19 Tests with 4 hundreds and 7 fifties in his career. The absence of Mendis is a much bigger blow for the hosts.
The 31-year-old has scored 4836 runs in 75 Tests at an average of 36.36 with 10 hundreds and 23 fifties and a best of 245. According to a report in Revsportz website, both Mendis and Nissanka have been ruled out of the series after suffering injuries in Lanka Premier League (LPL) 2026 season. "It is understood that both players are currently unable to cope with the workload of Test cricket," the Revsportz report stated.
The Sri Lanka Cricket selectors are considering recalling wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella, who has played 54 Tests for the country. His last Test appearance came in 2023 and has scored 2757 runs at an average of 30.97 with 22 fifties and a best of 96.
With Mendis, the team's first-choice wicketkeeper out, the SLC selectors have opted for Dickwella's experience behind the stumps instead of trying out promising 22-year-old Anjala Bandara, who averages over 60 in first-class cricket.
Meanwhile, Asitha Fernando is set to lead the pace-bowling attack which is likely to feature Lahiru Kumara and Vishwa Fernando. Prabath Jayasuriya will be the lead spinner for the hosts.
Captain Dhananjaya de Silva, Kamindu Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal and Lahiru Udara will form the core of the batting line-up. Nishan Madushka, the SLC XI opener against Indians in the three-day warm-up match, is set to retain his place as a top-order batter. He scored fifties in both innings in the practice match.
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