Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) accused former selection committee chief Kapila Wijegoonawardena of hurting the morale of the national team ahead of their ICC World Twenty20 campaign by making "inaccurate and misleading" statements in the media. "Mr Wijegoonawardne's statements are inaccurate, misleading, and defamatory, and furthermore are of the nature to cause grevious injury to the moral of the Sri Lanka cricket team, currently intent on bringing home the ICC World Twenty 20," a statement from SLC read. Wijegoonawardena was fired by the Sports Minister last week and was replaced by former batsman Aravinda de Silva. In a statement later, Wijegoonawardena accused that he was victim of politics and a selection committee would not be required in future as politicians would be handpicking the team. He alleged that the decision to remove Lasith Malinga as captain and the team for the ongoing World T20 had been discussed at a team hotel room during the Asia Cup held in Bangladesh.
Images from the ICC World Twenty20 Super Eights match between India and Sri Lanka, in St Lucia, on Tuesday.
Sri Lanka will start next month's Champions Trophy as underdogs but are confident they have the quality to compete for the title, captain Angelo Mathews said on Thursday.
Sri Lanka's young team are good enough to be competitive in the One-day tri-series in Bangladesh this month, coach Trevor Bayliss said on Sunday.
'We didn't get wickets (initially) but Hardik came and picked up those wickets and I thought Krunal (Pandya) bowled brilliantly to keep the pressure on and it was a good combination'
Sri Lanka have decided to rest strike bowler Lasith Malinga for the first Test against West Indies in Galle which starts on Monday.
The dreaded duo of Lasith Malinga and Muttiah Muralitharan will be missing from the Sri Lankan bowling attack but Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Sunday said their absence does not make his batsmen's job any easy in the second cricket Test starting in Colombo on Monday.
With the individual brilliance of just-retired Muttiah Muralitharan and Lasith Malinga missing, Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara on Sunday said his team will have to build bowling partnerships to trouble the Indians in the second cricket Test starting in Colombo on Monday.
Getting the wicket of "dangerman" Virender Sehwag early on Wednesday will be crucial for Sri Lanka's chance of winning the first cricket Test, according to spinner Rangana Herath, who stole the spotlight with an unbeaten 80.
Sunrisers Hyderabad face a formidable task without batting mainstay David Warner when they square off against Mumbai Indians in a crucial IPL match in Mumbai, on Thursday.
Sri Lanka fast bowler Lasith Malinga has been included in the 16-member squad for the three-Test series against India, starting at Galle on July 18. He made his last Test appearance in December 2007 against England.
Lasith Malinga's fiery spell upstaged Shahid Afridi's blazing century as Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by 16 runs in the opening match of the Asia Cup in Dambulla, on Tuesday. Set 243 for victory, Pakistan looked on course after Afridi smashed 109, but Malinga thwarted all their plans by claiming five for 34.
Openers KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan slammed quickfire half-centuries as India outclassed Sri Lanka by 78 runs in the third and final T20 International to win the three-match series 2-0, in Pune, on Friday. Images from the third T20 International between India and Sri Lanka, at Pune, on Friday.
England crushed Sri Lanka by seven wickets in a one-sided encounter to storm into the final of the ICC World Twenty20 in St Lucia, on Thursday. England cruised to 132 for three in 16 overs after restricting Sri Lanka to 128 for six.
Images from the tri-series ODI between India and Sri Lanka, played in Dambulla on Sunday.
List of players released by IPL teams ahead of next month's auction for 2020 season:
Mumbai Indians have called up West Indies fast bowler Jerome Taylor to replace the injured Sri Lankan paceman Lasith Malinga for the remainder of the IPL 2016.
Sri Lanka fast bowler Lasith Malinga, who helped bowl his side to a 10-wicket victory over India in the first test on Thursday, has been rested on medical advice for the second test that starts on Monday.
Tasmania has signed England all rounder Dimitri Mascarenhas as a replacement for Sri Lankan fast bowler Lasith Malinga as the team's international signing for this summer's Twenty20 Big Bash competition.
Continuity is an important aspect of squad building, said Fleming.
He is open to the idea of discussing Sri Lanka's transitional issues with their coach Nic Pothas, but India skipper Virat Kohli will only do it once he is done with the ongoing limited overs series.
Sri Lanka captain Upul Tharanga on Wednesday asked his top order batsmen to fire against a dominant India, urging them not to throw their wickets in the second One-Day International, in Pallekele, on Thursday.
'We have a quality group of players and we need to be smart about how we use them against opposition. I thought we played a very good game given the fact that what they had to offer. But definitely (Harbhajan was) not dropped in the way that you want me to say it. Just that it was a tactical decision'
Injuries to key players such as skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Rohit Sharma is giving them the jitters but India would still be firm favourites when they take on a depleted and struggling Sri Lanka in their penultimate league encounter of the Asia Cup Twenty20 cricket tournament, in Mirpur, on Tuesday.
Like India, Sri Lanka are also struggling with injury to at least one key player as their paceman Lasith Malinga was on Monday rendered doubtful for the first ODI due to indisposition.
Bumrah faces risk of suffering lumbar injuries, feels strength and conditioning sciences expert
Sri Lanka defeated Afghanistan by 34 runs in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup match at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff on Tuesday.
Sri Lanka fought off a strong challenge from Ireland at Lord's on Sunday to win their Twenty20 World Cup Super Eight match by nine runs. Ireland, the only non-Test playing nation still in the tournament, restricted the 1996 World one-day champions to 144 for nine after Sri Lanka had won the toss and elected to bat.
Skipper Mahela Jayawardene and vice-captain Kumar Sangakkara were left out of Sri Lanka's 15-man squad on Tuesday for the Twenty20 match against India next week. Tillakaratne Dilshan will lead the side, with Chamara Kapugedera serving as his deputy.
Pakistan found Lasith Malinga's pace and swing too hot to handle as they went down to Sri Lanka by 19 runs in the Super Eights match of the ICC World Twenty20 at Lord's on Friday.
Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews blamed his butterfingered fielders for the three-wicket loss against Pakistan which ended their campaign at the ICC Champions Trophy in Cardiff on Monday.
Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara showered encomiums on his teammates after they scored a comprehensive 97-run win over New Zealand in the first ODI of the Compaq Cup tri-series on Tuesday.
Sri Lanka won the opening match of the tri-series, beating New Zealand by 97 runs. Chasing Sri Lanka's modest 216 for seven, New Zealand were never in the hunt and folded for 119 in 36.1 overs.
With pitch deteriorating fast at the P Sara Oval in Colombo, Sri Lanka pacer Lasith Malinga on Thursday said a 250-plus score would be enough to defend against the famed Indian batting line-up in the third and final Test.
A 127-run opening partnership between Sachin Tendulkar (68) and Sanath Jayasuriya (52), followed by splendid bowling by Lasith Malinga (three for 11) and Abhishek Nayar (three for 13), helped Mumbai Indians beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 92 runs in the Indian Premier League match in Port Elizabeth on Monday. Chasing an improbable 188 to win, Knight Riders crashed to 95 for nine and suffered their worst defeat in the second edition of the league.
A young Sri Lanka team must play with arrogance if they are to upset holders India in Thursday's ICC Champions Trophy match at the Oval in London, former captain Kumar Sangakkara said.
Harbhajan will be playing for Chennai Super Kings this time after donning the Mumbai Indians jersey since the inception of the Indian Premier League.
Coach Stephen Fleming said that the planning for next season will start after Mahendra Singh Dhoni is back from the World Cup.
His bowlers pulled off an incredible win under pressure and Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma said that he always had faith in his pacers to deliver in crunch situation.
Munaf Patel joins Kandy Tuskers in LPL; Sarfaraz pulls out, Malinga unsure
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