Sri Lanka call up Maheesh Theekshana to the Test Squad

Maheesh Theekshana receives his maiden call-up in the long format. With Sri Lanka trailing in the series as the series heads to its second Test in Galle, Sri Lanka is ringing in the changes, given their under-par performance in the first Test. They have dropped Lasith Embuldeniya while Praveen Jayawickrama is out with Covid-19.

Along with Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellagale will make his entry in the Test squad. The third uncapped spinner called up is Lakshitha Manasinghe. The 19-year-old Wellagale is a left-arm spinner as well. He took nine wickets in the ODI series and was already a part of the side as a traveling reserve. Along with his bowling, Wellagale came gives some nice cover with the bat. He is a handy batter down the order as well. His batting skill will help Sri Lanka gain confidence in their batting line-up.

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Maheesh Theekshana has only four wickets in the ODI series but his entry is a threatening one. He troubled the Australians in the ODI series. Although he took only four wickets, Theekshana will hope to torment them. He has only three first-class games to his name. He is generally seen as a white-ball specialist which is why his transition will be interesting to watch.

Embuldeniya’s dropping comes after some poor returns. He went wicketless in the first Test, struggled against Bangladesh, and is now dropped after Sri Lanka lost patience with him. Of the three new spinners, at least one will get to play in the upcoming game. With two of the spinners from the previous game unavailable, a spot opens up and will be up for grabs. A good piece of news though is the return of Angelo Mathews. Angelo Mathews is available for selection after recovering from Covid-19.