Dasun Shanaka set to captain Sri Lanka in home series against India - Reports
Just a few weeks after being appointed the Sri Lankan captain, Kusal Perera is set to lose his position to Dasun Shanaka. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has reportedly decided to hand over the reins of the limited-overs team to Shanaka from Perera because of their respective roles in the central contract dispute.
According to ESPNCricinfo, Perera played a major role in the standoff between the Sri Lankan players and the board over the contract dispute. In contrast, Dasun Shanaka was one of the first Sri Lankan players to sign the new contracts offered for the upcoming series against India.
The top officials are thus looking to elect Shanaka as Sri Lanka's new white-ball skipper.
Kusal Perera was appointed Sri Lanka's new ODI and T20I captain in May. But the Lankans could not perform well under his leadership.
The Islanders lost their series against Bangladesh and England. While Bangladesh edged Sri Lanka 2-1 in their three-match ODI series, the Lankans were drubbed by England in both the T20I and the ODI series. In fact, the Sri Lankan side could not even win a single match on their England tour.
Dasun Shanaka has a 100% win record in T20Is as the captain of Sri Lanka
Interestingly, Dasun Shanaka has a 100% win record as the Sri Lankan captain in the international arena. The 29-year-old all-rounder led Sri Lanka in a three-match T20I series against Pakistan in 2019. The Islanders blanked Pakistan 3-0, recording a famous series victory away from home.
Shanaka has never captained the team in ODIs or Tests before. It will be interesting to see if the newly-elected skipper can maintain his 100% win record when the India vs Sri Lanka series gets underway on July 13 in Colombo.