Sri Lanka have included uncapped Nisala Tharaka and Milan Rathnayake in their 18-member squad for the three Test matches in England, to begin on August 21. Dhananjaya de Silva will lead the side, while Kusal Mendis has been named his deputy.

Other notable inclusions are former captains Angelo Mathews and Dimuth Karunaratne, stalwarts of the Sri Lankan batting; and left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya, whose 71 wickets are the joint fourth-most in history after 12 Test matches.

Now 33, right-arm medium-fast bowling all-rounder Tharaka has 257 wickets from 107 first-class matches at 30.27 to go with his 2,358 runs. In 2023/24, however, he has 44 wickets at 24.75 and hit his only first-class hundred. Playing for Sri Lanka A this May, he routed Afghanistan A with 6-26.

Milan Rathnayake, who turned 28 earlier this month, also bowls medium-fast. He has 75 wickets from 37 games at 31.97 along with 659 runs.

From nine series in England (including one-off Test matches), Sri Lanka have won two and drawn two, and lost the other five. Barring New Zealand in 2021, they remain the last touring side to beat England in England, in 2014.

Sri Lanka squad for England Test series:

Dhananjaya de Silva (c), Kusal Mendis (vc), Dimuth Karunaratne, Nishan Madushka, Pathum Nissanka, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Kamindu Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara, Prabath Jayasuriya, Ramesh Mendis, Jeffrey Vandersay, Nisala Tharaka, Milan Rathnayake

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Sri Lanka Cricket (@officialslc)

England v Sri Lanka Test series schedule:

First Test: Old Trafford, Manchester, August 21-25
Second Test: Lord’s, London, August 29-September 2
Third Test: The Oval, London, September 6-10

Follow Wisden for all updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.