Dasun Shanaka Returns for England Tour as Sri Lanka Leans on Experience
Sri Lanka have turned to old leaders and fresh form for their tour of England, recalling former captain Dasun Shanaka to the ODI squad and restoring Charith Asalanka to the T20I fold after his standout Lanka Premier League campaign.
Shanaka returns to shore up ODI middle order
Shanaka is in line for his first ODI appearance since January 2024, named in the squad that will face England in a three-match series later this month. His return adds ballast and experience to a middle order that has lacked a seasoned presence in the build-up to next year’s ODI World Cup.
The 32-year-old has played 71 ODIs and captained Sri Lanka in 43 of them. The numbers with the bat, though, tell a more complicated story: an average of 22.39 that does not quite match his reputation as a finisher. England, in testing early autumn conditions, offers him both a challenge and a chance to reframe that record.
Legspinner Sachindu Colombage, uncapped at international level, is the other new face in the ODI group. The selectors have moved on from pacers Milan Rathnayake and Pramod Madushan, both omitted after being part of the squad that claimed a rain-hit 1-0 series win in the Caribbean in June.
Kusal Mendis continues as captain, with Asalanka installed as his deputy across formats, signalling a leadership core built around two of Sri Lanka’s most reliable white-ball batters.
Sri Lanka squad for England ODIs: Kusal Mendis (captain), Charith Asalanka (vice-captain), Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Kamindu Mendis, Janith Liyanage, Pavan Rathnayake, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Sachindu Colombage, Dushmantha Chameera, Eshan Malinga, Asitha Fernando, Dilshan Madushanka
Asalanka headlines T20I shake-up
If Shanaka’s recall speaks to experience, Asalanka’s T20I return is a reward for form. Left out of the squad that toured the West Indies, he forced his way back with a commanding LPL season.
Batting for eventual champions Galle Gallants, Asalanka piled up 385 runs at an average of 38.50 and a strike-rate of 153.38, hammering four half-centuries and anchoring their title run. Those numbers have not only brought him back into the T20I squad; they have effectively cemented his role as vice-captain for the entire England tour.
The selectors have also moved to capitalise on domestic momentum by calling up Lahiru Udara. The top run-scorer in the LPL with 434 runs, Udara has just one T20I to his name, played at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, but arrives in England as one of Sri Lanka’s form batters.
All-rounder Janith Liyanage joins the T20I group as well, along with ambidextrous spinner Tharindu Rathnayake, whose inclusion gives the attack a rare tactical wrinkle. Making room for them, Lasith Croospulle, Pavan Rathnayake, Milan Rathnayake and Dilshan Madushanka drop out from the squad that toured the Caribbean.
Sri Lanka squad for England T20Is: Kusal Mendis (captain), Charith Asalanka (vice-captain), Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Lahiru Udara, Kamindu Mendis, Janith Liyanage, Dasun Shanaka, Dunith Wellalage, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Tharindu Rathnayake, Dushmantha Chameera, Eshan Malinga, Nuwan Thushara, Binura Fernando
England tour sets stage for World Cup push
The tour begins on September 15 with three T20Is in Southampton, Cardiff and Manchester, venues that can swing sharply from high-scoring to treacherous with a change in weather or cloud cover. For batters like Asalanka, Udara and Shanaka, it is a stern examination of technique and temperament.
The ODIs follow on September 22 in Chester-le-Street, then Leeds and The Oval, grounds that will mirror many of the conditions Sri Lanka expect to face at next year’s World Cup. With Mendis and Asalanka forming the leadership axis and Shanaka back in the mix, this trip to England feels less like a routine bilateral and more like an early audition for the side Sri Lanka want to be when the global tournament arrives.
