COLOMBO, April 22: Wicket-keeper Romesh Kaluwitharana was recalled by Sri Lanka on Tuesday for the first Test against New Zealand which starts on Friday.
Kaluwitharana, who has not played Test cricket for two years, joins a squad selected with a strong emphasis on spin.
As well as Muttiah Muralitharan, Sri Lanka also named spinners Kumar Dharmasena, Upul Chandana and Kaushal Lokuarachchi.
Chandana took five wickets on Tuesday for Sri Lanka ‘A’ on the final day of the two-day drawn warm-up match against New Zealand.
Left-handed batsman Michael Vandort, who was dropped for the tour of South Africa last year, is recalled but there are no places for Russel Arnold and Jehan Mubarak, who have both been struggling to score runs.
The two-Test series will be the first as captain for Hashan Tillekeratne, who replaced all rounder Sanath Jayasuriya after the opener’s resignation following Sri Lanka’s exit from the Sharjah Cup earlier this month.
Jayasuriya, who can also bowl spin, is still expected to open the innings along with Marvan Atapattu, who replaced him as the one-day captain.
The second Test starts in Kandy on May 3, and the two sides are then joined by Pakistan for a one-day triangular series.
Squad: Hashan Tillekeratne (captain), Marvan Atapattu, Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Kumar Dharmasena, Kaushal Lokuarachchi, Chaminda Vaas, Muttiah Muralitharan, Prabath Nissanka, Tillekeratne Dilshan, Upul Chandana, Michael Vandort, Dharshana Gamage.
Meanwhile, New Zealand opener Mark Richardson just missed out on his second successive century as he slammed an impressive 93 in a drawn warm-up match here on Tuesday.
The left-hander, who made 106 in the tour-opener on Sunday, hit 13 fours in his 171-ball knock as New Zealand were all out for 283 in their first innings in reply to Sri Lanka A’s 284 on the final day of a two-day game.
Wicket-keeper Robbie Hart was the second-highest scorer with an unbeaten 34 in New Zealand’s second and final practice match before the opening Test.
All-rounder Jacob Oram (26) and Mathew Sinclair (22) were the other notable contributors on a day when most of the New Zealand batsmen struggled for runs against spin.
Upul Chandana, who top-scored with 55 in the hosts’ first innings, troubled the tourists with his leg-spin as he finished with 5-98 off 33 overs.
Pacemen Thilan Mirando and Nandika Ranjith each bagged two wickets.
Brief scores:
SRI LANKA ‘A’ 284 (U. Chandana 55, T. Dilshan 39, S. Wijeratne 38 n.o. N. Nawaz 25, T. Mirando 23; D. Vettori 3-72, S. Bond 2-35, P. Wiseman 2-63);
NEW ZEALAND 283 (M. Richardson 93, R. Hart 34 n.o. J. Oram 26, M. Sinclair 22; U. Chandana 5-98, N. Ranjith 2-44, T. Mirando 2-44).—Reuters/AFP