Sri Lanka finished ninth after defeating West Indies in the Plate final. The squad features 11 of the 15 members from the U19 Asia Cup held in Sri Lanka in September last year, when the hosts finished as semi-finalists. Left-hand opener Kamil Mishara features as the lone wicket-keeper in the squad, with Navod Paranavithana slotting in as the leading all-rounder.
Kamil Mishara, Ahan Wickramasinghe and Ashian Daniel have also been selected after their successful outing in the Caribbean end of December.Left-arm seamer Dilshan Madushanka will make a return to the squad after an injury while young paceman Matheesha Pathirana alias “Podi Malinga” from Trinity College, also been added to the team.
Head coach Hashan Thilakaratne speaking at a media conference yesterday said the current team has good vibes due to their recent victory in West Indies and he hoped the team will continue with that performance.He said the inclusion of top order batsman Thaveesha Abhishek (Richmond College) and wicket keeper Mohamed Shamaz (Zahira College) will strengthen Sri Lanka’s batting unit which already includes the likes of Ravindu Rashantha and Navod Paranavithana. Sri Lanka U19s will compete from Group A in the U19 World Cup where they will have to overcome defending champions India, Japan (who are making their debut appearance in a World Cup tournament) and New Zealand in the group stage.
SRI LANKA U19 SQUAD: Nipun Dhananjaya (C), Kamil Mishara, Navod Paranavithana, Ahan Wickramasinghe, Ravindu de Silva, Sonal Dinusha, Mohamed Shamaz, Thaveesha Abhishek, Chamindu Wijesinghe, Ashain Daniel, Dilum Sudeera, Dilshan Madushanka, Amshi de Silva, Kavindu Nadeeshan, Matheesha Pathirana
Officials: Coach – Hashan Thilakaratne, Manager– Farveez Maharoof
GROUPINGS
Group A – India, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Japan
Group B – Australia, England, West Indies, Nigeria
Group C – Pakistan, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, Scotland
Group D – Afghanistan, South Africa, UAE, Canada