Wanindu Hasaranga To Be Appointed As Sri Lanka T20I Captain, Claims Report

Sri Lanka Cricket will likely to hand over captaincy duties to Wanindu Hasaranga in T20Is ahead of the three-match series against Zimbabwe in January next year.

Hasaranga will succeed Dasun Shanaka as T20I captain. Shanaka is likely to lead Sri Lanka in ODIs. The spin-bowling all-rounder has been out of action due to injury since August and was ruled out of Asia Cup and ODI World Cup this year. Wanindu Hasaranga is expected to return to action after injury layoff in ODI series against Zimbabwe.

As per the report in Sports Pavilion, while Wanindu Hasaranga will appointed as T20I captain, Dimuth Karunaratne will continue to lead Sri Lanka in Tests.

The report further added that Sri Lanka Cricket selection committee led Upal Tharanga will meet next week on Monday and take final decision on Hasaranga as T20I captain while picking up the ODI and T20I squads for Zimbabwe tour.

Sri Lanka to begin preparation for T20 World Cup 2024 under Hasaranga's captaincy

Sri Lanka will begin their preparation for the T20 World Cup 2024 in the upcoming T20I series against Zimbabwe. This will be Wanindu Hasaranga's first task as Sri Lanka T20I captain.

Hasaranga will have a tough task in hand in leading Sri Lanka in next year's T20 World Cup, which will take place in West Indies and USA. In the previous edition of the tournament, Sri Lanka failed to qualify for the knockout stage as they finished fourth in Group 1.

Interestingly, Wanindu Hasaranga was the highest wicket-taker in T20 World Cup 2022, which was held in Australia.

Hasaranga has played 58 matches for Sri Lanka and scalped 91 wickets in T20Is. The 26-year-old is currently the second-leading wicket-taker for Sri Lanka in the shortest format of the game