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Bhanuka talks about Asia Cup Preparations…
The team has good experienced players and even players who have played in the UAE in our team are a good strength for the team. The Afghanistan team is also an unreliable team. Before coming to UAE, we participated in some good training sessions as well as training matches. With our good preparation, we hope to give a good match to the Afghanistan team.
- Who will be playing XI in the first match?
The selectors have not said anything about it yet. Good things will happen as we expect. We hope to play the first match with 11 good players.
- What about your personal skills?
Actually, I think that I personally scored well in the last world cup. I was able to give my contribution to the team by scoring as many runs as needed as per a plan at the time the team needed. I have played many matches in UAE stadiums, including Sharjah Dubai. Most of the pitches are designed to suit the batsmen. The team is expected to score the required runs in this Asia Cup as well.
- What is the team plan?
Our team is in a positive mood. As a team, we hope to win by showing our talent again and again. In this tournament, we will be playing against first Afghanistan and then Bangladesh team. It is mandatory to be among the best in both these matches to stay in the tournament. There were no cricket tournaments in the last two or three months. No tournament was held after the Australian tour. So there is a little bit of panic as far as this series because after that we have the World Cup to play.
- What do you have to say to fans?
This is how we know that the audience will love us no matter where we are. We hope to show our best skills. So we request you to stay with us in this tournament as you have always stayed with us. We are doing our best in this tournament to raise the Sri Lankan flag high.
ආසියානු කුසලාන සූදානම ගැන භානුක කියයි…
කණ්ඩායමේ හොද අත්දැකීම් බහුල ක්රීඩකයන් සිටිනව. UAE වල ක්රීඩා කල ක්රීඩකයින් පවා අප කණ්ඩාම තුළ සිටීම කණ්ඩායමට හොද ශක්තියක්. ඇෆ්ගනිස්ථාන කණ්ඩායම කියන්නෙත් විශ්වාස කළ නොහැකි කණ්ඩායමක්. UAE එන්න කලින් අපි හොද පුහුණු සැසි කිහිපයකට මෙන්ම, පුහුණු තරග වලටද සහභාගි වුනා. අපහේ හොද සූදානමත් එක්ක හොද තරගයක් ඇෆ්ගනිස්ථාන කණ්ඩායමට දීමට බලාපොරොත්තු වෙනව.
- පළමු තරගයේ ක්රීඩා කරන 11 දෙන්නා කවුරුන්ද?
ඒ පිළිබදව තේරීම්කරුවන් කිසි දෙයක් පවසල නෑ තවම. ඒ දේවල් අපි බලාපොරොත්තු වෙන විදිහට හොද දේවල් සිද්ධ වෙයි. අපි බලාපොරොත්තු වෙනව හොද ක්රීඩකයන් 11 දෙනෙකු සමග පලමු තරගය ක්රීඩා කිරීමට.
- ඔබගේ පුද්ගලික දස්කම් ගැන කතා කලොත්?
ඇත්තටම මම හිතනව පසුගිය world cup එකේ පෞද්ගලිකව මම හොදට ලකුණු රැස් කලා කියල. කණ්ඩායමට අවශ්ය වෙලාවෙ සැලසුමකට අනුව අවශ්ය වෙලාවෙ අවශ්ය විදියට ලකුණු රැස්කර දීමත් සමග මගේ දායකත්වය කණ්ඩායමට ලබා දීමට හැකියාව ලැබුනා. මම ගොඩක් තරග UAE ක්රීඩාංගන වන සාජා ඩුබායි ක්රීඩා කරල තියෙනව. බොහොමයක් තණතීරු පිතිකරුවන්ට උචිත වන අන්දමට තමා සකසල තියෙන්නේ. මේම ආසියානු කුසලානයෙත් කණ්ඩායමට අවශ්ය විදිහට ලකුණු රැස් කරදීමට බලාපොරොත්තු වෙනවා.
- කණ්ඩායම් විදිහට තිබෙන සැලසුම කුමක්ද?
අපගේ කණ්ඩායම හොද මානසික මට්ටමක සිටිනවා. කණ්ඩායමක් විදිහට අපගේ දක්ෂතා නැවත නැවත පෙන්වීම තුළින් ජයග්රහණය කිරීමට බලාපොරොත්තු වෙනව. මෙම තරගාවලියෙත් මුලින්ම ඇෆ්ගනිස්ථාන කණ්ඩායම හා ඉන් පසු බංගලාදේශ කණ්ඩායම් හා තරග වැදීමට නියමිතව තිබෙනව. මෙම තරග දෙකෙත් උපරිම දක්ෂතා අතරට පැමිණීම අනිවාර්ය වෙනව තරගාවලියේ රැදී සිටීමට නම්. පසුගිය මාස දෙකේ තුනේ ක්රිකට් තරගාවලි පැවතුනේ නෑ. ඕස්ට්රේලියානු තරග සංචාරයෙන් පසුව තරගාවලියක් පැවැත්තුනේ නෑ. ඉතින් මේ තරගාවලිය3 තරම් දුරට පොඩි තැතිගැන්මක් තිබෙනව, ඉන් පසුව අපිට ලෝක කුසලානය ක්රීඩා කිරීමට තිබෙන නිසා.
- ප්රේක්ෂකයන්ට පැවසීමට තිබෙන දේ?
මෙහෙමයි අපි දන්නව අපි කොතන කොහොම හිටියත් ප්රේක්ෂකයෝ අපිට අදරෙයි කියල. අපි අපේ උපරිම දක්ෂතා දක්වන්න තමා බලාපොරොත්තුව. ඉතින් ඉල්ලා සිටිනවා අපිත් සමග හැමදාම රැදී සිටිය වගේ මේ තරගාවලියෙත් අපිත් සමග රැදී සිටින ලෙස. ශ්රී ලංකා ධජය ඉහලින්ම එසවීමට අපි මේ තරගාවලියේ උපරිම උත්සහයෙන් ක්රියා කරනව.
ஆசியக் கோப்பைக்கான ஏற்பாடுகள் குறித்து பானுகா கூறியபோது…
அணியில் நல்ல அனுபவம் வாய்ந்த வீரர்கள் உள்ளனர். ஐக்கிய அரபு அமீரகத்தில் விளையாடிய வீரர்கள் கூட எங்கள் அணியில் இருப்பது அணிக்கு நல்ல பலம். ஆப்கானிஸ்தான் அணியும் நம்பகத்தன்மையற்ற அணி. ஐக்கிய அரபு எமிரேட்ஸுக்கு வருவதற்கு முன்பு, நாங்கள் சில நல்ல பயிற்சி அமர்வுகள் மற்றும் பயிற்சி ஆட்டங்களில் பங்கேற்றோம். எங்களின் நல்ல தயாரிப்புடன், ஆப்கானிஸ்தான் அணிக்கு நல்ல போட்டியை வழங்குவோம் என நம்புகிறோம்.
- முதல் போட்டியில் விளையாடும் XI யார்?
இதுபற்றி தேர்வாளர்கள் இதுவரை எதுவும் கூறவில்லை. நாம் எதிர்பார்த்தபடி நல்லதே நடக்கும். முதல் போட்டியில் 11 நல்ல வீரர்களுடன் விளையாடுவோம் என நம்புகிறோம்.
- உங்கள் தனிப்பட்ட திறமைகள் பற்றி கூறினால்?
உண்மையில், கடந்த உலகக் கோப்பையில் நான் தனிப்பட்ட முறையில் நன்றாக அடித்தேன் என்று நினைக்கிறேன். அணிக்கு தேவையான நேரத்தில் ஒரு திட்டத்தின் படி தேவையான புள்ளிகளை சேகரித்து அணிக்கு எனது பங்களிப்பை வழங்க முடிந்தது. ஷார்ஜா துபாயில் உள்ள ஐக்கிய அரபு எமிரேட்ஸ் மைதானங்களில் பல போட்டிகளில் விளையாடியுள்ளேன். பெரும்பாலான ஆடுகளங்கள் பேட்ஸ்மேன்களுக்கு ஏற்றவாறு வடிவமைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளன. இந்த ஆசிய கோப்பையிலும் அணி தேவையான புள்ளிகளை பெறும் என எதிர்பார்க்கப்படுகிறது.
- அணியின் திட்டம் என்ன?
எங்கள் அணி நல்ல மனநிலையில் உள்ளது. ஒரு அணியாக, மீண்டும் மீண்டும் திறமையை வெளிப்படுத்தி வெற்றி பெறுவோம். இந்தப் போட்டியில் முதலில் ஆப்கானிஸ்தான் அணியுடனும், பின்னர் வங்கதேச அணியுடனும் மோதவுள்ளது. போட்டியில் நீடிக்க இந்த இரண்டு போட்டிகளிலும் சிறந்து விளங்குவது கட்டாயமாகும். கடந்த இரண்டு மூன்று மாதங்களாக கிரிக்கெட் போட்டிகள் நடைபெறவில்லை. ஆஸ்திரேலிய சுற்றுப்பயணத்திற்கு பிறகு எந்த போட்டியும் நடத்தப்படவில்லை. அதனால் இந்த தொடர் கொஞ்சம் கடினமாய் உள்ளது, ஏனென்றால் அதன் பிறகு நாம் உலகக் கோப்பை விளையாட வேண்டும்.
- பார்வையாளர்களுக்கு என்ன கூற விரும்புகிறீர்கள்?
நாம் எங்கிருந்தாலும் பார்வையாளர்கள் நம்மை நேசிப்பார்கள் என்பது இப்படித்தான் தெரியும். எங்களின் சிறந்த திறமைகளை வெளிப்படுத்துவோம் என நம்புகிறோம். எனவே நீங்கள் எப்போதும் எங்களுடன் தங்கியிருந்ததைப் போல இந்த போட்டியிலும் எங்களுடன் இருக்குமாறு கேட்டுக்கொள்கிறோம். இந்தப் போட்டியில் இலங்கைக் கொடியை உயர்த்துவதற்கு எங்களால் முடிந்த அனைத்தையும் செய்து வருகிறோம்.
News by Thilina Madusanka
Cricket
Wanindu Hasaranga Faces Inquiry After Missing Mandatory Fitness Test
Sri Lanka’s premier leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga is under scrutiny after failing to attend a scheduled fitness test, raising fresh concerns over compliance with national selection standards.
Sources within Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) confirmed that selectors have formally escalated the matter to the High Performance Center, overseen by Jerome Jayaratne, along with senior board officials. The incident has drawn attention due to SLC’s increasingly strict enforcement of fitness protocols.
Hasaranga, who missed Sri Lanka’s campaign at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup earlier this year with a hamstring injury, is believed to have fully recovered. Despite this, he has yet to complete the mandatory fitness assessment required for national selection and overseas participation.
Under SLC’s revised policy, centrally contracted players must meet defined fitness benchmarks before receiving clearance to compete in franchise tournaments such as the Indian Premier League.
The situation is particularly significant given Hasaranga’s recent signing by the Lucknow Super Giants during the mini-auction for his base price of INR 2 crore.
Thushara Ruled Out, Pathirana Awaiting Clearance
In a related development, Sri Lanka fast bowler Nuwan Thushara has been ruled out of the upcoming IPL season after failing to meet fitness requirements.
Thushara reportedly did not pass his initial fitness test and was granted a second opportunity, which he also missed. As a result, SLC declined to issue him the required NOC, effectively ending his participation hopes.
Despite being injury-free and available to bowl, Thushara is understood to have fallen short of the board’s prescribed fitness standards. He had been signed by the Royal Challengers Bengaluru for approximately INR 1.6 crore and was expected to bolster their pace attack.
Meanwhile, young pacer Matheesha Pathirana remains in contention but is yet to complete his fitness test. Officials indicate he is likely to join his IPL franchise once he clears the required assessments. Pathirana had previously been sidelined due to a hamstring injury.
IPL 2026 Underway
The 2026 edition of the Indian Premier League officially commenced on March 28 and is scheduled to run through the end of May, with franchises finalizing their squads amid strict fitness and regulatory oversight from national boards.
Football
Late heartbreak ends Sri Lanka’s semi-final hopes
Sri Lanka’s journey at the SAFF U-20 Championship 2026 came to a dramatic and painful end after a last-gasp goal handed Bhutan a 1-0 victory in their decisive group-stage clash in Malé, Maldives.

With a place in the semi-finals on the line, the match carried high stakes for both sides. Sri Lanka entered the contest knowing only a positive result would keep their campaign alive, and they responded with a disciplined and energetic performance. The young Sri Lankan side showed composure in defense while attempting to build attacking momentum against a well-organized Bhutan team.
Chances, however, were at a premium. Sri Lanka managed to create a few half-opportunities but were unable to convert, as the Bhutanese defense held firm. As the match wore on, tension grew, with both teams aware that a draw would not be enough to secure progression.
Just as it seemed the game would end in stalemate, Bhutan struck a decisive blow in stoppage time. Forward Dhendup Gyeltshen capitalized on a momentary lapse in the Sri Lankan defense to score in the 90+2 minute, silencing hopes of a late turnaround and sealing all three points for his side.
Cricket
Sri Lanka U19 Women’s Team Set for Australia Tour 2026 Tri-Nation Series
The Sri Lanka Under-19 Women’s Cricket Team is set to tour Australia in April 2026 for an exciting tri-nation series that will also feature England. This tour represents an important opportunity for the young Sri Lankan players to gain international exposure and compete against strong opposition in both limited-overs formats. The team is scheduled to depart on 3rd April 2026 and will play a total of six matches during the tour, including two 50-over games and four T20 matches.
The series will begin on 7th April 2026 with a 50-over match against England at Ian Healy Oval in Brisbane, starting at 9:30 AM. Sri Lanka will then face Australia in another 50-over encounter on 8th April 2026 at the same venue and time. The action will shift to the Gold Coast for the T20 leg of the tour, where Sri Lanka will meet England on 12th April 2026 at Bill Pippen Oval at 9:00 AM, followed by a match against Australia on 13th April 2026 at the same ground and time. The final phase of the tour returns to Brisbane, with Sri Lanka playing England on 17th April 2026 and Australia on 18th April 2026 in two early morning T20 matches at Ian Healy Oval, both starting at 5:30 AM.
Match Schedule
• 7th April 2026 – Sri Lanka vs England (50-over)
Ian Healy Oval, Brisbane – 09:30 AM
• 8th April 2026 – Sri Lanka vs Australia (50-over)
Ian Healy Oval, Brisbane – 09:30 AM
• 12th April 2026 – Sri Lanka vs England (T20)
Bill Pippen Oval, Gold Coast – 09:00 AM
• 13th April 2026 – Sri Lanka vs Australia (T20)
Bill Pippen Oval, Gold Coast – 09:00 AM
• 17th April 2026 – Sri Lanka vs England (T20)
Ian Healy Oval, Brisbane – 05:30 AM
• 18th April 2026 – Sri Lanka vs Australia (T20)
Ian Healy Oval, Brisbane – 05:30 AM
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