Sri Lanka on November 19 named a 17-man Test squad for the two-Test series against South Africa starting later this month. Left-arm spinner Lasith Embuldeniya has made a comeback after more than a couple years.
The notable omission from the Test squad is their spin-bowling all-rounder Ramesh Mendis. The off-spinner took six wickets in Sri Lanka's 63-run win over New Zealand in the first Test of two-Test series at home in Galle. He is capable of contributing down the order as well.
Embuldeniya was impressive on his last tour to South Africa in 2019. He took six wickets at an average of 23.83 including a five-wicket haul.
Meanwhile, the team management has pulled out Kusal Mendis, Asitha Mendis, Kamindu Mendis and Pathum Nissanka from the third and final ODI of the series against New Zealand. Sri Lanka sealed the series with a three-wicket win against New Zealand with Kusal Mendis scoring an unbeaten half-century. They will start their preparation for the Test series in South Africa.
The Test series will begin on November 27 at Kingsmead, Durban. The second test will be played at St George's Park, Gqeberha starting December 5.
Sri Lanka's Test squad:
Dhananjaya de Silva (c), Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Kusal Mendis, Kamindu Mendis, Oshada Fernando, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Prabath Jayasuriya, Nishan Peiris, Lasith Embuldeniya, Milan Rathnayake, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Kasun Rajitha
Sri Lanka's WTC final chances
Sri Lanka who are currently placed third in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 points table have a good chance of making it to the final. Currently, they have a win percentage of 55.56. They need at least three wins from remaining four Tests to have a chance of qualifying. They will play Australia at home in a two-Test series next year. If they win all four, they will have a win percentage of 69.23 (considering they don't get docked for over-rate).
