Sri Lanka will go all out to win Test Series against Pakistan

Elmo Rodrigopulle reporting from UAE

ABU DHABI, Dec. 28: With Sri Lanka battling out to win the fifth and final Test and going down fighting 2-3 to Pakistan in the ODI series, the focus will now be on for the three-Test series which starts on the New Year’s eve.

Having tied the two-match T20 series one-all and narrowly lost the five-match ODI series 2-3, Sri Lanka will make every effort to win the three-Test series which begins here on Tuesday (31).

The three Test matches will be played in Abu Dhabi (Dec. 31 to Jan. 4), Dubai (Jan. 8 – 12) and Sharjah (Jan. 16 to 20).

Pakistan have selected paceman Mohammad Talha for the Tests more than four years after he made his Test debut in March 2009. They have also recalled fast bowler Umar Gul who is fit again, and allrounder Mohammad Hafeez who cracked three centuries in the first four ODIs against Sri Lanka in the UAE.

The players missing from the squad that played the Tests against South Africa in the UAE are injured fast bowler Mohammad Irfan batsman Umar Amin and spinner Zulfiqar Babar Talha’s debut was in the Lahore Test in 2009, which had to be abandoned after the bus transporting the Sri Lanka team was attacked by terrorists. He was part of the squad for the tour of Bangladesh in 2011-12 but did not get an opportunity play. An injury ruled him out of that season’s series against England in the UAE. He recently took 11 wickets for Port Qasim Authority in the President’s Trophy.

Talha was 20 years old when he made his debut and since then Pakistan has tried as many as nine fast bowlers, making it hard to find a place in the squad. He has taken 143 first-class wickets since 2010, and 33 in the ongoing season.

“It has been a tough time since I played my only Test,” Talha was quoted as saying before the start of the 2013-14 season. “Injuries have been a concern for while but I always tried to keep myself in the best shape amid tough competition and waited for the opportunity.”

“Competition has always been there and I did manage to win a place in 2009 and was selected after that too. But lack of opportunity and some random injuries hindered my growth. No international cricket in Pakistan was also a blow to my career. I always felt empty since that incomplete Test match in Lahore,” Gul’s last Test for Pakistan was in South Africa in February this year, after which he was sidelined by injury until his recall to the ODI squad ahead of the third match of the recently concluded series against Sri Lanka.

Hafeez had been dropped for the Tests against South Africa in the UAE after a dismal record of an aggregate of 102 runs in 10 innings this year. His return to this squad was largely due to his match-winning performances with the bat in the ODIs against Sri Lanka.

Thirty five-year-old Babar had injured his hand during the second Test against South Africa in the UAE. He needed stitches, but completed his three-week rehabilitation and returned to domestic cricket.

Having picked for the only T20 against Afghanistan in Sharjah, he was overlooked for the Tests against Sri Lanka as selectors have opted for Abdur Rehman and Saeed Ajmal, and Hafeez’s return provided an additional spin option.

Babar had played only one first-class game this season, taking three wickets for Water and Power Development Authority against Habib Bank Limited.

Meawnhile, wicketkeeper-bat Prasanna Jayawardene will return to Sri Lanka’s 16-man Test squad, after being left out for the home series against Bangladesh in March. The squad features a raft of young and inexperienced places, as Sri Lanka work towards replacing its seniors over the next 18 months.

Kaushal Silva comes in for opener Tillakaratne Dilshan, who recently retired form Test cricket. Left-arm paceman Vishwa Fernando has been named in an international squad for the first time, despite missing out on both A team tours in the year.

Off spinners Sachithra Senanayake and Dilruwan Perera are the other uncapped players in the squad, though both have represented Sri Lanka in ODIs and Twenty20s. Ajantha Mendis was omitted, after he had been part of the squad for the Bangladesh series.

Fast bowlers Shaminda Eranga and Nuwan Pradeep will make a return to international cricket as well. Eranga had been omitted from the limited overs squad in the last two series, while Pradeep has not played for Sri Lanka since the New Year Test in Sydney. Suranga Lakmal and Nuwan Kulasekara also find places in the squad, but there is no room for Thisara Perera.

Prasanna Jayawardene had played club cricket for Woodhall Spa in England during the summer before returning to Sri Lanka for the four-day triangular tournament in October. He has had good scores in the past few months, and if he plays, will also add experience to Sri Lanka’s batting order in the absence of Dilshan. Sri Lanka has two other wicket-keeping options in Silva and Dinesh Chandimal. Silva has been prolific in first-class cricket over the last year, topping the run-scoring lists in the Premier League Tournament and as well as in the unofficial Tests against New Zealand A at home.

He had played three Tests in 2011, but was unable to secure a place, averaging 14. He has hit 8489 first-class runs with 27 hundreds, and is likely open alongside Dimuth Karunaratne, who is already in the UAE with the ODI side.

Herath and former captain Mahela Jayawardene will also both join the team during the weekend after they had ruled themselves out for the ODI series due to personal reasons.

Test squads:

Sri Lanka: Angelo Mathews (captain), Dinesh Chandimal, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Kaushal Silva, Dimuth Karunaratne, Lahiru Thirimanne, Prasanna Jayawardene, Nuwan Kulasekara, Suranga Lakmal, Shaminda Eranga, Nuwan Pradeep, Sachithra Senanayake, Rangana Herath, Dilruwan Perera, Vishwa Fernando

Pakistan: Misbah-ul-Haq (Captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Ahmed Shehzad, Khurram Manzoor, Shan Masood, Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Younis Khan, Adnan Akmal, Junaid Khan, Saeed Ajmal, Abdur Rehman, Umar Gul, Rahat Ali, Mohammad Talha.