Samaraweera to captain Gopalan tour party

The Colombo District Cricket Association (CDCA) has picked a powerful young squad for the Gopalan Trophy Tour against Tamil Nadu next month. The 14-man squad, captained by Thilan Samaraweera, has seven players with full international experience.

The squad, scheduled to depart Sri Lanka on October 12 for the 11-day tour to Southern India, will play one four-day game and three one-day matches. The one-day series will be played for Vernon Prince Trophy, named after the captain of the Ceylonese side in the first ever Gopalan Trophy. The four-day game, which will be played in Chittambaram Stadium in Madras, will follow the one-day series.

The tournament was revived last year after a lapse of 17 years. Most of the matches, however, were washed out by rain.

The CDCA selection committee, headed by A.R.M. Aroos, had picked an initial squad of 20 members, which was pruned to 14 after discussions with the members of cricket committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL) and the chairman of the selection committee T. B. Kehelgamuwa.

CDCA had initially opted to give the captaincy to Hashan Tillakaratne, who had skippered the side last year, but finally picked Thilan Samaraweera, the experienced A team leader who scored a Test century on debut against India in August.

Sri Lanka A team coach, Roshan Mahanama. has been appointed as the coach for the tour.

The squad:

Thilan Samaraweera, Upul Chandana, Avishka Gunawardene, Michael Vandort, Ian Daniel, Upeka Fernando, Akalanka Ganegama, T.M Dilshan, Gayan Wijekoon, Rangana Herath, Prasanna Jayawardene, Kaushalya Weeraratne and Muthumudalige Pushpakumara.

Coach: Roshan Mahanama Manager: Bandula Disannayake Asst. Manager: ARM Aroos