The Sri Lanka Cricket Selection Committee has named a pretty strong side for the event featuring the likes of Captain Chamari Athapaththu, Nilakshi de Silva, Oshadi Ranasinghe, and Udeshika Prabodhini. SLC has also named a few youngsters in the squad such as Vishmi Gunaratne, Imesha Dulani, and Kavisha Dilhari.
The selectors have made just 1 change to the historic side that defeated England in the 3-match T20I series this month. The Island Nation lost the opening match but made sure they thumped their opposition in the next two games.
Kaushini Nuthyangana will replace Hansima Karunaratne in the squad. Kaushini has just played 3 T20Is for Sri Lanka scoring just 9 runs. Hansima Karunaratne did not feature in any of the 3 T20Is played in the series.
Sri Lanka will directly play in the Quarter Finals of the event, thanks to their superior rank in ICC’s rankings. In the previous edition, Sri Lanka finished in the 3rd position, winning the Bronze Medal for the country. They defeated China by 5 wickets in the Bronze Medal match.
Captain Chamari Athapaththu has been in fine form of late, as she has amassed a total of 407 runs since the start of this year in T20s from a total of 13 innings, at an incredible strike rate of 135.83 and an average of 34.75. Chamari has also been a bit handy with the ball for the Island Nation, picking up a total of 7 wickets from 9 innings at an economy rate of 6.28.
Sri Lanka’s yet another top-order batter, Harshitha Samarawickrama has been quite exceptional since the start of the year, scoring a total of 384 runs from 12 innings at an unbelievable average of 64 and a decent strike rate of 95.52.
Sri Lanka's 15 member squad for 19th Asian Games! #CricketTwitter #AsianGames2023 | 📸: Getty pic.twitter.com/L0Xwrah4qx
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) September 18, 2023
The performances of Chamari Athapaththu, Oshadi Ranasinghe, Inoka Ranaweera, and Harshitha Samarawickrama are majorly going to influence the type of tournament this team has. The Sri Lankan team would hope these star performers are on the top of their game to secure their country a medal.
The Sri Lankan side will play their quarter-finals on 22nd September in Hangzhou, China.
Sri Lanka’s Squad for Asian Games:
Chamari Athapaththu (C), Harshitha Samarawickrama, Vishmi Gunaratne, Nilakshi de Silva, Kavisha Dilhari, Imesha Dulani, Anushka Sanjeewani, Oshadi Ranasinghe, Sugandika Kumari, Inoka Ranaweera, Udeshika Prabodhani, Hasini Perera, Kaushini Nuthyangana, Achini Kulasooriya, Inoshi Fernando
Asian Games Schedule:
| DATE | MATCH(ES) | TIME (IST) |
19-Sep-23 |
Indonesia v Mongolia | 9:30 AM |
| Hong Kong v Malaysia | 2:30 PM | |
| 20-Sep-23 | Qualifier quarter-final (TBD v TBD) | 9:30 AM |
21-Sep-23 |
Quarter-final (India v TBD) | 9:30 AM |
| Quarter-final (Pakistan v TBD) | 2:30 PM | |
22-Sep-23 |
Quarter-final (Sri Lanka v TBD) | 9:30 AM |
| Quarter-final (Bangladesh v TBD) | 2:30 PM | |
24-Sep-23 |
Semi-final (TBD v TBD) | 9:30 AM |
| Semi-final (TBD v TBD) | 2:30 PM | |
25-Sep-23 |
Bronze medal match (TBD v TBD) | 9:30 AM |
| Gold medal match – Final (TBD v TBD) | 2:30 PM |
Asian Games Broadcast:
India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan, Bhutan and Maldives – Sony LIV and Sony Sports Network
China – CCTV
Japan – TBS
Singapore – MediaCorp Channel 5 and mewatch.sg
Indonesia – MNCTV, RCTI, iNews TV, and Vision+
The Republic of Korea – KBS, MBC, SBS, and TV Chosun
Malaysia – RTM and Astro
Loves all things female cricket