Forgotten heroes
Ullaskar suffered immensely after being caught by the British and was sent to the Cellular jail in the intractable Andamans.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Niroshan Dickwella and batsman Danushka Gunathilaka are among the five players who have been dropped from the 22-member Sri Lanka squad initially picked for the three-match one-day international (ODI) series against Bangladesh starting Friday (26 July) at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
Amila Aponso, Lakshan Sandakan and Lahiru Madusanka are the other three players who failed to make a cut in the final 17-member squad for the ODI series after five players were excluded from the provisional 22-member squad. Meanwhile, Shehan Jayasuriya, Wanindu Hasaranga, Akila Dananjaya, Lahiru Kumara and Dasun Shanaka have all been included in the squad.
The first match of the series will be Lasith Malinga’s final ODI, with the veteran pacer saying goodbye to the format. Dasun Shanaka will take Malinga’s place for the remaining two matches which will be played on 28 July and 31 July.
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Sri Lanka ace pacer Malinga has played 225 ODI matches donning the island’s jersey and has taken 335 wickets — 3rd highest for Sri Lanka in ODIs. From the 73 T20I matches played, Malinga has 97 wickets against his name — 2nd highest in T20Is being behind Shahid Afridi by just one-wicket. Malinga is the only player in cricket history to bag two World Cup hattricks — against South Africa in 2007 and against Kenya in 2011.
Sri Lanka squad: Dimuth Karunaratne (captain), Kusal Perera, Avishka Fernando, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Lahiru Thirimane, Shehan Jayasuriya, Dhananjaya de Silva, Wanindu Hasaranga, Akila Dananjaya, Lasith Malinga (1st ODI), Nuwan Pradeep, Lahiru Kumara, Thisara Perera, Isuru Udana, Kasun Rajitha, Dasun Shanaka (2nd and 3rd ODI).
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