South Africa vs Sri Lanka ODIs 2017: 5 players to watch out for
A full strength South African side is set to take on the visitors, Sri Lanka, in a five-match ODI series which might very well act as a building block for both teams towards the Champions Trophy on England later this year.
The Proteas ODI side would be rejuvenated by the return of their skipper, Ab de Villiers and other players who were rested for the T20 leg. They would, however, miss the services of Lungi Ngidi, the star of the T20s due to an injury he suffered in the final match.
Sri Lanka may have found some respite on this tour by winning the T20s but the ODIs hold more context this year with a tournament coming up. Their ODI side is more settled now with the youngsters finding their feet but they will miss Angelo Matthews.
Let us take a glance at 5 key players for the ODIs that start at Port Elizabeth from 28th.
#5 Dinesh Chandimal
The Sri Lankan wicket-keeper batsman is a senior figure in the squad right now and in the absence of Matthews, is expected to take a leadership role though the captaincy has been entrusted with Upul Tharanga.
Ideally, Sri Lanka would like to see their batsmen bat around Chandimal, who has the flamboyance and experience to revel in this new role as a fulcrum. Chandimal is a much better limited-overs player and if he can overcome a poor Test series and find some form with the bat, Lanka might just edge out the Proteas.
Being the keeper, Chandimal may also need to give inputs about field positions and DRS calls to Tharanga who is in unfamiliar territory as skipper. Much would depend on Chandimal if Sri Lanka are to post competitive totals against a full strength South Africa.