South Africa vs Sri Lanka T20 series 2017: 5 players to watch out for
Sri Lanka are coming off the back of a poor Test series and they would be hoping to make amends in the shortest format of the game which starts on Friday. The Lankans have been one of the better T20 teams in world cricket, although the recent retirements of their senior players have made them vulnerable.
One relief for the Matthews-led side would be that South Africa have opted to rest their senior players and have drafted several youngsters.
In fact, only four of the 15 that were in the side for the T20I World Cup in India have made it into the South African team for this series. The selectors have focussed on youth and have rewarded players who have impressed in the CSA T20 Challenge. They have also handed the captaincy to Farhaan Behardien, who had a stellar season for the Titans franchise.
Sri Lanka, meanwhile, have a pretty settled T20 unit, albeit a young one, and will be hoping to win over a second-string South African side. However, the conditions are still against them and they would need to bat much better than in the Tests to survive. South Africa have some talented bowlers in their line-up and have experience in the form of Imran Tahir, one of the best T20 bowlers.
Here is a look at 5 players to watch out for in the Sri Lanka - South Africa T20 series.
#5 Dhananjaya de Silva
Dhananjaya de Silva has played just 4 T20 matches for Sri Lanka but his Test career has been a fruitful one thus far, and the all-rounder possesses every skill to excel at the world stage in the shorter formats.
His domestic T20 records are good and he boasts of an average of 34.4, pretty good by T20 standards. He also has seven half-centuries with a highest score of 81*. He already has a T20 half-century which he scored in his last T20I against Australia, where he made 62.
de Silva will also be expected to chip in with a few overs of off-spin. Although he is yet to get an international T20 scalp, he has a fairly good record as a bowler at first-class level. In the absence of Kusal Perera, he would most likely bat at 3, if not open.