Under-19 captain Vishmi Gunaratne headlines Sri Lanka's T20 World Cup squad

Fresh from leading the team during the recent event in South Africa, the 17-year-old is part of the group selected for the senior tournament later this month

Nick Howson | 01/02/2023 at 15:56

Sri Lanka have included Under-19 captain Vishmi Gunaratne in their 15-strong squad for this month's T20 World Cup.

Seamer Ama Kanchanan and allrounder Sathya Sandeepani complete the additions to the squad from the Asia Cup last October.

Hasini Perera, who suffered a finger injury in training, Rashmi Silva and Madushika Mettananda drop out of the group that reached the final.

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^{Chamari Athapaththu will captain the squad but the identity of the head coach remains shrouded in mystery (ISHARA S. KODIKARA/AFP via Getty Images)}

Gunaratne was Sri Lanka's leading batter during the Under-19 World Cup, scoring 134 runs at 44.66 as the team won one of their seven games.

She has already played two one-day internationals and nine T20Is for her country but missed the Asia Cup with a stress fracture.

Sri Lanka T20 World Cup squad

Chamari Athapaththu (c), Oshadi Ranasinghe, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Nilakshi de Silva, Kavisha Dilhari, Anushka Sanjeewani, Kaushini Nuthyangana, Malsha Shehani, Inoka Ranaweera, Sugandika Kumari, Achini Kulasuriya, Vishmi Gunaratne, Tharika Sewwandi, Ama Kanchana, Sathya Sandeepani

Despite the playing squad being announced, it remains to be seen who leads Sri Lanka into the tournament.

Former head coach Hashan Tillakaratne stood down after the Asia Cup final defeat to India and a successor has not yet been installed.

Sri Lanka kick off their campaign on the opening day of the tournament on February 10 against hosts South Africa.