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Who delayed the announcement of Sri Lanka’s Asia Cup squad?
It was noticeable that many newspapers had reported that only the Sri Lankan squad was not announced until the last moment. On further investigation, it was reported that the Sri Lanka Selection Committee forwarded the 20-man squad for the approval of the Sports Minister on August 12. But until yesterday (19) it had not received approval.
However, last night (19) at 9.51 on his Twitter account, the Minister of Sports stated that the relevant news was not correct and that he was referred to him for the approval of the squad yesterday (19). It was further stated in the Twitter message that approval was given within an hour of receiving the named squad.
Last night (19) 9.54 making another note, the minister announced the official squad for this year’s Asian Cup breaking the tradition.
I completely refuse the allegation of the news published today (19) on some Media channels regarding the team that selected for Asia cup and I would like to say that I only received the documents today (19/08) and within 1 hour I gave my approval. @adaderanasin @NewsWireLK
— Roshan Ranasinghe (@R_A_Ranasinghe) August 19, 2022
However, Sri Lanka Cricket issued a statement in response to the minister’s announcement. The letter states that the Sri Lanka selection committee met on August 10 and named the squad for the Asian Cup and on August 12, the squad was sent to the Minister of Sports. The announcement further states that the letter indicating that Asitha Fernando and Pramod Madhushan were called up to the squad due to the injuries of two players in the named squad was arranged to be given to the minister on August 16.
Meanwhile, in an announcement on the afternoon of August 20, the Ministry of Sports said that the Sri Lanka Cricket Board was delayed in giving the approval for the squad due to the fact that the documents to be provided along with the player pool were not properly provided.
Under the leadership of Dasun Shanaka, the Sri Lanka squad for the Asia Cup consists of 08 batsmen, 05 fast bowlers, 03 spinners and 04 all-rounders.
ආසියානු කුසලාන ශ්රී ලංකා සංචිතය ප්රකාශයට පත් කිරීම ප්රමාද කරණු ලැබුවේ කවුරුන්ද?
ශ්රී ලංකා සංචිතය පමණක් අවසන් මොහොත දක්වාම ප්රකාශයට පත් නොකිරීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් පුවත්පත් රැසක්ම වාර්ථා කර තිබීම කැපී පෙනෙන්නට විය. මේ පිළිබද වැඩි දුරටත් සෙවීමේදී වාර්ථා වූයේ ශ්රී ලංකා තේරීම් කමිටුව 20 දෙදෙනෙකුගෙන් යුත් සංචිතය අගෝස්තු මස 12 වැනිදා ක්රීඩා අමාත්යවරයාගේ අනුමැතිය සදහා යොමුකර ඇති බවයි. නමුත් ඊයේ (19) වන තෙක් එයට අණුමැතිය නොලැබී තිබූ බවයි.
කෙසේ වෙතත් ඊයේ (19) රාත්රියේ 9.51 සිය Twitter ගිණුමේ සටහනක් තබමින් ක්රීඩා අමාත්යවරයා, අදාල පුවත් නිවැරදි නොවන බවත් සංචිතයේ අනුමැතිය සදහා තමා වෙත යොමු කලේ ඊයේ (19) දින බවත් ප්රකාශකර තිබුණා. නම් කල සංචිතය ලැබී පැයක් ඇතුළත ඊට අනුමැතිය ලබා දුන් බවත් Twitter පණිවිඩයේ වැඩි දුරටත් සදහන් විය.
ඊයේ රාත්රියේ (19) 9.54 තවත් සටහනක් තබමින් අමාත්යවරයා මෙවර ආසියානු කුසලානයට එක්වන නිළ සංචිතය නිවේදනය කලේ සම්ප්රදායද බිද දමමින්ය.
කෙසේ වෙතත් ක්රිකට් ආයතනය විසින් අමාත්යවරයාගේ නිවේදනයට ප්රතිචාර දක්වමින් මෙලෙස නිවේදනයක් නිකුත් කරණු ලැබීය. එම ලිපියේ දැක්වෙන්නේ ශ්රී ලංකා තේරීම් කමිටුව අගෝස්තු මස 10 දින රැස්වී ආසියානු කුසලානය සදහා වන සංචිතය නම් කළ බවත් අගෝස්තු 12 වැනිදා එම සංචිතය ක්රීඩා අමාත්යවරයාගේ අණුමැතිය සදහා යොමු කළ බවයි. තවද නිවේදනයේ වැඩි දුරටත් සදහන් වන්නේ නම් කළ සංචිතයේ ක්රීඩකයන් දෙදෙනෙකු අබාධ වලට ලක්වීම නිසා අසිත ප්රනාන්දු හා ප්රමෝද් මධුෂාන් සංචිතයට කැදවූ බවත් දැක්වෙන ලිපිය අගෝස්තු 16 වැනිදා අමාත්යවරයාට ලබාදීමට කටයුතු කළ බවයි.
මේ අතර අගෝස්තු මස 20 වැනිදා පස්වරුවේ නිවේදනයක් නිකුත් කරමින් ක්රීඩා අමාත්යංශය පැවසුවේ ශ්රී ලංකා ක්රිකට් ආයතනය ක්රීඩක සංචියත් සමග ලබාදිය යුතු ලිපිගොණු හරියාකාරව ලබානොදීම නිසා සංචිතය සදහා අනුමැතිය ලබාදීමට ප්රමාද වූ බවයි.
දසුන් ශානකගේ නායකත්වයෙන් ආසියානු කුසලානයට එක්වන ශ්රී ලංකා සංචිතය පිතිකරුවන් 08ක්, වේග පන්දු යවන්නන් 05ක්, දග පන්දු යවන්නන් 03 දෙනෙකු හා තුන් ඉරියව් ක්රීඩකයින් 04 දෙනෙකුගෙන් සමන්විතය.
ஆசியக் கோப்பைக்கான இலங்கை அணி அறிவிப்பை தாமதப்படுத்தியது யார்?
கடைசி நிமிடம் வரை இலங்கை அணி மட்டும் அறிவிக்கப்படவில்லை என்று பல பத்திரிகைகள் செய்தி வெளியிட்டிருந்ததை கவனிக்க முடிந்தது. மேலதிக விசாரணையில், இலங்கைத் தெரிவுக்குழு 20 பேர் கொண்ட அணியை விளையாட்டு அமைச்சரின் ஒப்புதலுக்கு ஆகஸ்ட் 12 ஆம் திகதி அனுப்பியுள்ளதாக தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. ஆனால் நேற்று (19) வரை அதற்கு உத்தரவு கிடைக்கவில்லை.
எவ்வாறாயினும் நேற்று (19) இரவு 9.51 மணியளவில் விளையாட்டுத்துறை அமைச்சர் தனது டுவிட்டர் கணக்கில், இது தொடர்பான செய்திகள் சரியானதல்ல எனவும், நேற்று (19) குழாமின் ஒப்புதலுக்காக தம்மிடம் பரிந்துரைக்கப்பட்டதாகவும் குறிப்பிட்டுள்ளார். பெயரிடப்பட்ட அணி கிடைத்த ஒரு மணி நேரத்தில் ஒப்புதல் வழங்கப்பட்டதாக ட்விட்டர் செய்தியில் மேலும் தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.
நேற்றிரவு (19) 9.54 க்கு மற்றுமொரு குறிப்பை முன்வைத்து, பாரம்பரியத்தை உடைத்து இந்த ஆண்டுக்கான ஆசிய கோப்பைக்கான உத்தியோகபூர்வ அணியை அமைச்சர் அறிவித்தார்.
எனினும் அமைச்சரின் இந்த அறிவிப்புக்கு பதிலளிக்கும் வகையில் கிரிக்கெட் நிறுவனம் அறிக்கை ஒன்றை வெளியிட்டுள்ளது. இலங்கைத் தெரிவுக்குழு ஆகஸ்ட் 10ஆம் திகதி கூடி ஆசியக் கிண்ணத்திற்கான அணியை அறிவித்ததாகவும், ஆகஸ்ட் 12ஆம் திகதி அந்த அணி விளையாட்டுத்துறை அமைச்சருக்கு அனுப்பப்பட்டதாகவும் அந்தக் கடிதத்தில் குறிப்பிடப்பட்டுள்ளது. பெயரிடப்பட்ட அணியில் இரு வீரர்கள் காயமடைந்ததன் காரணமாக அசித பெர்னாண்டோ மற்றும் பிரமோத் மதுஷன் ஆகியோர் அணிக்கு அழைக்கப்பட்டதை சுட்டிக்காட்டும் கடிதம் ஆகஸ்ட் 16 ஆம் திகதி அமைச்சரிடம் வழங்குவதற்கு ஏற்பாடு செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளதாக அந்த அறிவிப்பில் மேலும் தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.
இதற்கிடையில், ஆகஸ்ட் 20 ஆம் தேதி பிற்பகல் வெளியிட்ட அறிவிப்பில், வீரர் குழுவுடன் வழங்க வேண்டிய ஆவணங்கள் சரியாக இல்லாததால், இலங்கை கிரிக்கெட் வாரியம் அணிக்கான அனுமதியை வழங்குவதில் தாமதம் ஏற்பட்டதாக விளையாட்டு அமைச்சகம் தெரிவித்துள்ளது. வழங்கப்படும்.
தசுன் ஷனக்கவின் தலைமையில் ஆசியக் கிண்ணத்திற்கான இலங்கை அணியில் 08 துடுப்பாட்ட வீரர்கள், 05 வேகப்பந்து வீச்சாளர்கள், 03 சுழற்பந்து வீச்சாளர்கள் மற்றும் 04 சகலதுறை ஆட்டக்காரர்கள் உள்ளனர்.
News
SLR Unveils National Coaching Staff for 2026 Season
Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR) has officially named the coaching and support staff for the national XV-a-side and sevens teams ahead of the 2026 international rugby season, which begins next month with the tour of the New Zealand Under-85kg team to Sri Lanka.
Dushanth Lewke has been appointed as the Head Coach of the national XV-a-side squad for the upcoming international campaigns. He will be supported by forwards coach Henry Terance and assistant coach Lasintha De Costa. The team’s support staff will include Tharanga Premakumara as physiotherapist and Vishvamithra Jayasinghe overseeing strength and conditioning.
Lewke previously served as the forwards coach of the national XV-a-side team during the 2025 Asia Rugby Championship. He also enjoyed a highly successful domestic season, guiding his club CR & FC to a historic double by winning both the League title and the Clifford Cup.
Sri Lanka’s XV-a-side international calendar will begin with the New Zealand Under-85kg tour scheduled for April. Later in the year, Sri Lanka will compete in the Asia Rugby Top 4 tournament alongside South Korea, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates.
For the men’s sevens programme, Shamly Nawaz and Amjad Buksh have been appointed as co-coaches, while Dansha Dayan will join the setup as an intern coach. Dilan Zoysa will manage strength and conditioning responsibilities and Shafin Majid will serve as the team physiotherapist.

The women’s national programme will be led by head coach Leonard De Zilwa with M. Saldeen appointed as assistant coach. Nimesh De Silva will take on the role of team physiotherapist.
Cricket
92nd Battle of the Saints Set for March at SSC
The stage is set for one of Sri Lanka’s most cherished school cricket rivalries, as St. Joseph’s College and St. Peter’s College prepare to renew their historic contest in the 92nd Battle of the Saints. The three-day encounter will be played at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) ground on 19, 20 and 21 March, with the prestigious Rev. Fr. Maurice J. Le Goc Trophy up for grabs.
Adding to the excitement, the 52nd Joe–Pete Limited Overs Encounter for the Rev. Fr. Peter A. Pillai Trophy will take place on 25 April, also at SSC. Dialog Axiata PLC continues its proud tradition of powering this iconic fixture for the tenth consecutive year, underscoring its commitment to nurturing the champions of tomorrow.
This year, St. Joseph’s will be led by Rishma Amarasinghe, while St. Peter’s will take the field under Enosh Peterson, who starred as Man-of-the-Match in last year’s limited overs clash. The rivalry remains finely balanced: St. Joseph’s has 12 outright wins, their last in 2008, while St. Peter’s boasts 10, most recently in 2016. A remarkable 68 encounters have ended in draws, reflecting the competitive spirit that defines this fixture. The 2025 edition, contested as a three-day match for the first time, fittingly ended in a draw.
In the shorter format, St. Joseph’s holds a narrow edge with 25 victories compared to St. Peter’s 23, alongside two no-results and one tie. The 51st encounter saw St. Peter’s clinch a thrilling four-wicket win to retain the Rev. Fr. Peter A. Pillai Memorial Shield.
Beyond the numbers, both schools carry a proud legacy of producing cricketing greats who have represented Sri Lanka at the highest level. Josephian alumni include Dimuth Karunaratne, Angelo Mathews, Chaminda Vaas, Dunith Wellalage, Thisara Perera, and Sadeera Samarawickrama, while Peterites have given the nation stars such as Roy Dias, Rumesh Ratnayake, Russel Arnold, Angelo Perera, and Janith Liyanage.
Speaking ahead of the match, Rev. Fr. Rohitha Rodrigo of St. Peter’s emphasized that the fixture represents more than competition, symbolizing brotherhood, character, and the highest standards of school cricket. Rev. Fr. Ranjith Andradi of St. Joseph’s echoed the sentiment, highlighting the values of discipline, teamwork, and fellowship that unite generations of players and supporters.
Dialog’s Group Chief Marketing Officer, Lasantha Thverapperuma, reaffirmed the company’s commitment to the Big Match season, calling it a cornerstone of Sri Lanka’s sporting heritage and wishing both teams success in what promises to be another memorable chapter in this storied rivalry.
Cricket
LPL Player Draft Postponed Amid Middle East Tensions
The Lanka Premier League (LPL) 2026 has encountered an unexpected delay, with organizers confirming that the highly anticipated player draft will not take place this month due to ongoing tensions in the Middle East. While the draft has been pushed back, the tournament itself remains firmly on schedule, set to run from 8 July to 8 August 2026.
Despite the setback, excitement around the sixth edition of the league continues to build. Several prominent international cricketers have already expressed their interest in participating, reinforcing the LPL’s growing stature in the global cricket calendar.
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is also exploring the possibility of expanding the list of venues for this year’s competition. The Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) Ground in Colombo has emerged as a strong candidate following the installation of floodlights, which now allow the historic venue to host day-night fixtures. If included, SSC would join the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, and Dambulla International Stadium, easing logistical challenges and giving fans in the capital another opportunity to witness the action.
Although no official confirmation has been made, discussions are ongoing, and SSC is increasingly seen as a likely addition to the venue lineup.
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