Mathews favourite to lead T20 side in Shanaka’s absence
As captain-designate Dasun Shanaka is likely to miss the T20 leg of the West Indies series due to a visa issue, Sri Lanka could bring in one of the three seniors to lead the side.
The names of former skippers Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal and Thisara Perera have all been discussed but the scale is in Mathews’ favour. For this, however Mathews has to give his consent.
The team management in Antigua which includes head coach Mickey Arthur and Manager Jerome Jayaratne have been asked to discuss it with Mathews on the possibility of taking up the leadership for the tour.
If he refuses, the next choice is to bring in Chandimal — another senior player who is sure of his place in the side.
“We can’t just parachute someone to lead the side. It has to be someone who is assured of his place in the playing XI,” Sri Lanka Cricket sources said.
The name of ODI skipper Dimuth Karunaratne has also been floated around but unlikely to get the cut since he has not played any T20 international for Sri Lanka.
Shanaka was unable to travel to travel with the rest of the team on Monday due to a delay in processing his transit visa to the United States of America. Shanaka has had a proper US transit visa valid for five years but he has lost that passport back in 2018. The visa officers for the US are doing additional checks, the reason for the delay in Shanaka getting the visa.
SLC is hopeful that the matter would be sorted by at least Monday for him to travel to Antigua but his participation in the T20 series is unlikely. The laws in Antigua requires three days of quarantine for the visitors arriving in the country. The first T20 international will be played on March 3, followed by second and third matches on March 5 and 7 respectively. Meanwhile Pramodya Wickermasinghe will leave the Sri Lanka shores today to join the team as the selector on tour.