Sri Lanka skipper Charith Asalanka has been handed the responsibility to continue as the skipper of the national side against England in the 50-over format; however, he has admitted that this was not the ideal time to conduct this series, as many players will be missing the matches due to T20 WC obligations.
Sri Lanka finally revealed their squad for the three-match ODI series against England, which commences today, the 22nd of January. They named the 17-member squad just a day ahead of the beginning of the series and have excluded many big names from the series.
Sri Lanka is the official co-host of the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup. The SLC is hosting a major ICC event after a long time and would pin their hopes on making it to the later stages of the competition. They have failed to perform convincingly in multi-team tournaments in recent years.
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Charith Asalanka to continue as Sri Lanka’s ODI skipper
As Sri Lanka reveals the ODI squad for the upcoming series against England, they have named former skipper Charith Asalanka as the captain. The left-handed batter will continue his leadership role in the longer white-ball format after being sacked from T20Is.
Charith Asalanka is one of the crucial batters in the Lankan lineup and is also a part of the T20 World Cup squad, but Dasun Shanaka was named the skipper. The Chairman of selectors of the SLC, Upul Tharanga, had claimed that Asalanka was relieved of the burden of leadership so that he could ensure a smooth return of his batting form.
These incidents were, however, also marked as repercussions of Asalanka ignoring the ultimatum issued to Lankan cricketers when many requested to return to the country midway during a tour to Pakistan, where they felt a threat to their lives. The SLC had then threatened players to bear consequences if they returned, despite which Asalanka flew back to the country, citing health issues.
“Not suitable for this time,” Charith Asalanka admits to the misscheduling of the SL vs ENG ODI series
The Sri Lankan skipper, who has retained his role as well as a spot in the squad, faced the press ahead of the start of the ODI series between England and the Lankans and admitted to the flaws of the scheduling of the series.
While every team is focused on playing T20I cricket ahead of the World Cup, an ODI series for Sri Lanka seemed an odd decision for the co-hosts. The matches have been scheduled for the 22nd, 24th, and 26th of January and will be played in Colombo.
Even the Lankan skipper admitted that this was just not the ideal time for the 50-over format matches; Charith Asalanka remarked, “Not suitable for this time, because it’s ODI cricket, not T20 cricket. A lot of the T20 players are not in the squad; I think this is, for the most part, preparation for the 2027 ODI World Cup.”
Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka admits the timing of the ODI series against England isn’t ideal, with the T20 World Cup less than three weeks away. pic.twitter.com/FtaTUTF5aw
— Cricwire (@CricWireLK) January 22, 2026
Sri Lanka’s frontline pacers snubbed from ODI series against England
The Lankans have not made many changes to the ODI squad. As many as 14 players have retained their spots from the previous series against Pakistan. However, a few new additions have been made, which include the experienced Dhananjaya de Silva alongside Dunith Wellalage and Milan Rathnayake.
The spin department of the Lankans looks convincing as always; however, the pace deck is what looks relatively flaky. With several frontline pacers in Dusmantha Chameera, Matheesha Pathirana, Dilshan Madushanka, and Nuwan Thusara lacking in the squad, they might struggle within the powerplay and the death overs.
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