Dasun Shanaka is their 10th captain in nearly five years, and barring a classy batsman like Dhananjaya de Silva and a steady pacer in Dishmantha Chameera, this team lacks quality to challenge the might of the Indian team led by Shikhar Dhawan.
Sri Lanka will arrive in South Africa on Saturday, with the first Test in Pretoria starting on Boxing Day. The second will be in Johannesburg from January 3.
Gautam Gambhir is a politician by choice but a cricketer at heart whose brain never stops ticking when it comes to conceptualising, planning and execution.
If their performance is any indication, Lucknow Super Giants and Rajasthan Royals could make for a blockbuster Indian Premier League contest on Sunday evening, an iconic venue adding to its charm.
Rahul and Pant, both match-winners in their own rights even with the bat, will like to seize the initiative in these early rounds.
KKR are placed at the sixth spot with 12 points and they will not only have to win but do it with a big margin
IMAGES from the IPL match played between Mumbai Indians and Lucknow Super Giants in Mumbai on Sunday.
Virtually out of the play-off race and struggling on multiple fronts, a horribly out-of-sorts Mumbai Indians will need a special team effort to arrest their slide when they take on Lucknow Super Giants in a return-leg IPL fixture in Mumbai on Sunday.
In other big movements, Punjab Kings have released their last edition's captain Mayank Agarwal, while West Indies skipper Nicholas Pooran was released by Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Pakistan to allow vaccinated spectators to attend NZ series.
IMAGES from the IPL 2022 game between Rajasthan Royals and Lucknow Super Giants, in Mumbai, on Sunday
As far as its revised training itinerary is concerned, it is understood that the Sri Lankan team will be practising at the Khettarama (R Premadas Stadium) in Colombo, since the Indians are training at the Singhalese Sports Club ground (SSC).
Defending champions West Indies will be desperate to address their batting woes and keep their slim semi-final hopes alive when they take on an inexperienced Sri Lanka in the T20 World Cup on Thursday.
Tillakaratne Dilshan scored his 47th one-day half century to anchor a much-improved Sri Lanka to a morale-boosting eight-wicket victory on Thursday that kept their one-day series against New Zealand alive.
Gambhir, one of the finest among IPL skippers with two titles for Kolkata Knight Riders, spoke to PTI exclusively on a host of topics including Rahul's leadership, team composition and how he intends to handle relation between Deepak Hooda and Krunal Pandya.
Sri Lanka named a 16-member team for the upcoming Test series against India with uncapped 23-year-old fast bowler Vishwa Fernando the only fresh face picked by the national selectors.
Sri Lanka's top-order batsmen put up a solid display and were ably aided by their bowlers to help their side thump England by 219 runs for the touring side's worst one-day international loss by runs.
Punjab Kings kept their prospects of making the play-offs alive after a a five-wicket victory over Kolkata Knight Riders in Dubai on Friday. They are placed fifth with 12 points, after five wins and seven defeats. Victory in Sunday's outing will certainly enhance their chances.
Meanwhile, Royal Challenger Bangalore brought in Sri Lanka's Wanindu Hasaranga as replacement for Australia's Adam Zampa. In the recent three-match T20I series against India in Sri Lanka, Hasaranga bagged a total of seven wickets, including a four-wicket haul in the final T20I.
Sri Lanka Test captain Dinesh Chandimal was withdrawn on Monday from the 16-member squad for the Asia Cup because of an injury during a recent domestic tournament. The 28-year-old batsman injured a finger during a domestic Twenty20 match and needed more time to recover, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said.
Kohli and Sharma were sitting pretty with 857 and 825 points respectively in the batting list
A reinvigorated India will look to pocket their second series win in as many weeks and build on the gains made from a drastic change in their batting approach in the second T20 International against Sri Lanka in Dharamsala on Saturday.
Shehzad-Ali add 120 runs for second wicket as Pakistan trail by six runs with eight wickets in hand
The absence of the team's established players, such as Virat Kohli and Rishbah Pant as well as KL Rahul, in the upcoming three T20 Internationals will definitely translate into more opportunities for the likes of Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Sanju Samson.
IMAGES from the IPL 2022 game between Chennai Super Kings and Lucknow Super Giants, in Mumbai, on Thursday
Sri Lanka will have to produce something special to halt England's juggernaut at Sharjah.
David Miller's late cameo saw South Africa stage a late comeback to outclass Sri Lanka by four wickets in the Super 12 match at the T20 World Cup at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Saturday.
IMAGES from the IPL 2022 game between Mumbai Indians and Lucknow Super Giants, in Mumbai, on Saturday.
IMAGES from the IPL 2022 game between Lucknow Super Giants and Kolkata Knight Riders in Pune on Saturday.
The problem with non-selection of an Indian player in the XI is more to do with lack of matches rather than poor show since they have won both the series that they played in 2021.
Assured of a play-off berth, Royal Challengers Bangalore will look to quickly recover from their loss in the previous game and finish the league phase on a high when they take on table-toppers Delhi Capitals in their final IPL round-robin game in Dubai on Friday.
Royal Challengers Bangalore would look to build on the momentum when they take on a struggling Rajasthan Royals in their Indian Premier League match in Dubai on Wednesday.
Enduring a forgettable outing in the first half of this year's IPL, two-time former champions Kolkata Knight Riders would look for reversal of fortunes when they resume their campaign against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the second phase of T20 league in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
Marlon Samuels' unbeaten century proved in vain as Sri Lanka beat West Indies by 19 runs under the Duckworth-Lewis method to complete a 3-0 one-day series whitewash on Saturday.
The list has been ratified by sports minister Dayasiri Jayasekera. The list however says Malinga has been rested without stating any reason for that. Malinga is currently playing in the Bangladesh Premier League.
If RCB win their remaining two games, they will move to 20 points and have a chance of finishing in the top two.
Electing to bat, India struggled to put up 81 for 8 in their 20 overs against Sri Lanka in the deciding third Twenty20 International, in Colombo, on Thursday.
Having lost the third ODI to Sri Lanka, Shikhar Dhawan's men will be looking to go one better against Sri Lanka with a T20 team that is ahead in almost all departments.
Martin Guptill struck his third Test century while Kane Williamson fell just short his 13th as New Zealand blunted Sri Lanka's inexperienced bowling attack to set themselves up for a big total in the first Test in Dunedin on Thursday.
It will take a special effort from the struggling Sri Lankan side to pull one back against the rampaging visitors.
