November 24, 2007	Saturday	Ziqa’ad 13, 1428

COLOMBO, Nov 23: Tillekeratne Dilshan was once again ignored by Sri Lanka’s selectors when they named a 14-man squad on Friday for the first Test against England.

Dilshan was left out of the recent tour of Australia, but was expected to take the spot left vacant by the retiring former captain Marvan Atapattu.

The selectors instead picked Upul Tharanga and Jehan Mubarak as the batting options for the first of three Tests against Michael Vaughan’s men starting in Kandy on Dec 1.

Atapattu and the injured Farveez Maharoof are the only two names missing from the eleven that played in the second Test against Australia in Hobart last week.

Added to that team are Tharanga, Mubarak, left-arm seamers Chaminda Vaas and Sujeewa de Silva and leg-spinner Malinga Bandara.

Fast bowler Dilhara Fernando retained his place in the squad despite suffering from a recurring ankle injury. Skipper Mahela Jayawardene said Fernando, who is due for surgery next April, took injections in Australia to make himself fit for the England series.

“Dilhara has had that ankle problem for quite some time,” the captain said soon after the team returned from Australia, where it lost both Test matches. He saw a specialist in Australia who has recommended an operation for him, probably for early April when we get a decent break.

“He had an injection just before we left Australia, so he should be fine for this series,” Jayawardene said.

The squad for the remaining two Tests in Colombo and Galle will be announced later.

Squad: Mahela Jayawardene (captain), Kumar Sangakkara, Sanath Jayasuriya, Upul Tharanga, Michael Vandort, Chamara Silva, Jehan Mubarak, Prasanna Jayawardene (wicket-keeper), Muttiah Muralitharan, Chaminda Vaas, Dilhara Fernando, Lasith Malinga, Malinga Bandara, Sujeewa de Silva.—AFP