Sri Lanka's first tour to the West Indies under coach Gary Kirsten

The Sri Lanka national cricket team departs the island today (26) for the cricket series against the West Indies. This tour includes two Test matches, three One-Day Internationals (ODIs), and three T20 matches, with the first ODI of the series scheduled to begin on the 3rd of next month in Kingston.

It is noteworthy that this is the first international cricket series the Sri Lankan team will face after Mr. Gary Kirsten's appointment as the new head coach of the Sri Lankan team.

Several significant changes have been made to the captaincy of the teams named for this series. Accordingly, Kusal Mendis has been entrusted with the captaincy of both the ODI and T20 teams, while Dhananjaya de Silva will continue to serve as the captain of the Test team. It is noteworthy that Kamindu Mendis has been named as the vice-captain for teams across all three formats. Due to these captaincy changes, former ODI captain Charith Asalanka and former T20 captain Dasun Shanaka have been included in the squads as regular players. According to the current International Cricket Council (ICC) rankings, Sri Lanka is ranked 6th in both Test and ODI formats, and 9th in the T20 format.

Although the Minister of Sports recently changed the Sri Lanka Cricket selection committee, the players for this West Indies tour have been selected by the previous selection committee, chaired by Mr. Pramodya Wickramasinghe. It is reported that Kusal Mendis has been given the limited-overs captaincy with an eye on the 2027 ODI World Cup, and Kamindu Mendis has been appointed as vice-captain with a broad vision for the next few years. However, it is stated that there is a possibility of a change in the limited-overs captaincy based on reasonable grounds depending on future circumstances. Additionally, left-arm leg-spinner and all-rounder Sonal Dinusha, who has taken 130 wickets in first-class matches and performed well with the bat against the New Zealand 'A' team, has been called up to the Test squad for the first time.

The Sri Lanka Test squad named for this series includes Dhananjaya de Silva (Captain), Kamindu Mendis (Vice-Captain), Pathum Nissanka, Lahiru Udara, Nishan Madushka, Dinesh Chandimal, Pasindu Sooriyabandara, Sonal Dinusha, Kusal Mendis, Milan Rathnayake, Prabath Jayasuriya, Ramesh Mendis, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Isitha Wijesundara, and Kasun Rajitha.

The Sri Lanka squad representing the ODI series includes Kusal Mendis (Captain), Kamindu Mendis (Vice-Captain), Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Pawan Rathnayake, Janith Liyanage, Charith Asalanka, Milan Rathnayake, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Dilshan Madushanka, Eshan Malinga, Asitha Fernando, and Pramod Madushan.

The Sri Lanka squad for the T20 series includes Kusal Mendis (Captain), Kamindu Mendis (Vice-Captain), Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Lasith Croospulle, Pawan Rathnayake, Dasun Shanaka, Milan Rathnayake, Dunith Wellalage, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Dilshan Madushanka, Eshan Malinga, Binura Fernando, and Nuwan Thushara.