Atapattu and Chandana recalled

Marvan Atapattu, the former Sri Lanka captain, has been recalled to the Test squad for the upcoming series against Bangladesh. Atapattu, 36, returns to the team for the first time in 18 months. A back injury forced him out of cricket after he underwent surgery to correct the condition.

Atapattu’s last Test match was against India at Ahmedabad when he scored 40 and 16 as he captained Sri Lanka in defeat by 259 runs. Since his departure from the international game, Mahela Jayawardene has taken over as captain with some outstanding success. Most recently Jayawardene led the team to the World Cup final against Australia.

Joining Atapattu in the 15-man Test squad is uncapped batsman Malinda Warnapura and left-arm seamer Sujeewa de Silva. The 28-year-old Warnapura has been in excellent form for Sri Lanka ‘A’, recently scoring 242 against Bangladesh ‘A’. De Silva, 27, returns for the first time in 5 years.

In news of the one-day international squad, legspinning allrounder Upul Chandana has been recalled. At 35, Chandana returns after two years and will compete with Malinga Bandara for the accompanying spinner’s role to Muttiah Muralitharan. Jehan Mubarak and Chamara Kapugedera have also been recalled for the one-day series.

Prasanna Jayawardene continues his run in the Test side, allowing Kumar Sangakkara to better concentrate on his batting at the top of the order. Veteran opener Sanath Jayasuriya will be rested for the Test series, but will return for the one-day internationals.

Sri Lanka Test squad:
Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Upul Tharanga, Marvan Atapattu, Kumar Sangakkara, Chamara Silva, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Prasanna Jayawardene (wk), Chaminda Vaas, Farveez Maharoof, Muttiah Muralitharan, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Malinga Bandara, Malinda Warnapura, Sujeewa de Silva.

Sri Lanka ODI squad:
Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Upul Tharanga, Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Chamara Silva, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Jehan Mubarak, Chaminda Vaas, Lasith Malinga, Farveez Maharoof, Upul Chandana, Dilhara Fernando, Chamara Kapugedera, Malinga Bandara, Nuwan Kulasekera.