Harsha Vithane to lead Sri Lanka Under-19

Harsha Vithane, a product of St. Aloysius College in Galle, will lead a 14-member Sri Lanka Under-19 team on a tour of Pakistan starting from December 29.

The tour was hastily arranged by the board since the scheduled Indian tour to Sri Lanka had been postponed. On Thursday, the national selectors picked a squad of six batsmen, two allrounders, three spinners and three fast bowlers for the month-long tour.

The Sri Lankan Under-19 side is scheduled to play two four-day unofficial Tests and three limited-over one-day games. The squad is subject to ratification by the Sports Minister.

Squad
Batsmen: Harsha Vithane (capt, St. Aloysius, Galle), Kaushal Silva (S. Thomas', Mt Lavinia), Upul Tharanga (Dharmasoka, Ambalangoda), Gehan de Silva (St. Peter's), C.B. Kapugedera (Vidyartha)
Allrounders: Angelo Mathews (St. Joseph's Colombo), Salika Karunanayake (Maliyadeva, Kurunegala)
Spinners: M. Siriwardene (Kalutara Vidyalaya), Ranesh Perera (St. Joseph's, Colombo), Suraj Mohamed (Rahula, Matara)
Fast bowlers: Lakmal Perera (Kalutara Vidyalaya), S. Serasinghe (Nalanda), Chintaka Perera (President's College, Rajagiriya)
Standbys: Saliya Saman (Revatha Vidyalaya, Balapitiya), Yohan de Silva (Nalanda), Dilan Fernando (Joseph Vaz, Wennappuwa), D. Dassanayake (Maliyadeva,, Kurunegala), C. Punchihewa (Trinity). Officials: Ashley de Silva (manager), Sumithra Warnakulasuriya (coach), Ranjith Nanayakkara (physio).