The Sri Lanka men's national cricket team, (Sinhala: ශ්රී ලංකා ජාතික ක්රිකට් කණ්ඩායම, romanized:Shri Lanka Jathika Crikat Kandayama; Tamil: இலங்கை தேசிய கிரிக்கெட் அணி) nicknamed The Lions,[10] represents Sri Lanka in men's international cricket. It is a full Member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) with Test, One-Day International (ODI) and T20 International (T20I) status. The team first played international cricket (as Ceylon) in 1926–27 and became an associate member of the ICC in 1965. They were awarded the Test status in 1981, which made Sri Lanka the eighth Test cricket-playing nation. The team is administered by Sri Lanka Cricket.
Sri Lanka's national cricket team achieved considerable success beginning in the 1990s, rising from underdog status to winning the Cricket World Cup in 1996, under the captaincy of Arjuna Ranatunga. Since then, the team has continued to be a force in international cricket. The Sri Lankan cricket team reached the finals of the 2007 and 2011Cricket World Cups consecutively. They ended up being runners-up on both occasions.[11]
Sri Lanka won their first Test match under the leadership of Duleep Mendis on 11 September 1985 against India, winning by 149 runs at P. Saravanamuttu Stadium.[18] Eventually they won the three-match Test series, 1–0.[19] Sri Lanka had to wait more than seven years for their next series victory, which came against New Zealand in December 1992, when they won the two-match series 1–0.[20] This was immediately followed by a one-wicket victory against England in a one-Test series.[21]
Two years later, on 15 March 1995, Sri Lanka won their first overseas Test match under the leadership of Arjuna Ranatunga against New Zealand, when they beat them by 241 runs at Napier.[22] This win also resulted in their first overseas Test series victory, 1–0.[23] Their next series too was an overseas series, against Pakistan, and that one too resulted in Sri Lankan victory.[24]
Sri Lanka registered their first ODI win against India at Old Trafford, England on 16 June 1979.[25]
After many years of underdog status, Sri Lanka finally entered the limelight of the cricketing world after winning the 1996 Cricket World Cup under the captaincy of Arjuna Ranatunga.[26] Meanwhile, they revolutionized modern day batting strategies by rapid scoring during the first 15 overs. Sri Lanka later became the co-champions in 2002 ICC Champions Trophy and also became six times Asian champions in 1986, 1997, 2004, 2008, 2014 and 2022.
On 11 September 1999, under the leadership of Sanath Jayasuriya, Sri Lanka won their first Test match against Australia, when they beat them by six wickets at Asgiriya Stadium, Kandy.[27] Eventually they won the three-match Test series, 1–0.
On 14 June 2000, Sri Lanka played their 100th Test match. It was against Pakistan, at SSC, Colombo, under the leadership of Sanath Jayasuriya. Pakistan won by 5 wickets.[28]
On 4 August 2016, they played their 250th Test match when they played Australia in Galle.[29] They won the match by 229 runs,[30] and also won the Warne-Muralidharan trophy for the first time since its inception. On 17 August 2016, under the leadership of Angelo Mathews, Sri Lanka whitewashed Australia 3-0 for the first time in Test cricket.[31] Until 2017, Sri Lanka had whitewashed Zimbabwe three times, Bangladesh once and Australia once in Test cricket.[citation needed]
Sri Lanka played their first day-night Test match on 6 October 2017 against Pakistan at Dubai International Cricket Stadium.[32][33][34] Under the captaincy of Dinesh Chandimal, Sri Lanka convincingly won the match by 68 runs and sweep the series 2–0. In the match, Dimuth Karunaratne became the first Sri Lankan to score a fifty, a century and a 150 in a day-night Test. Lahiru Gamage, who debut in the match became the first Sri Lankan to take a wicket in a day-night Test, whereas Dilruwan Perera became the first Sri Lankan to take a five-wicket haul in a day-night Test.[35]
The second Test match of the 2014 Sri Lanka's England tour, Sri Lanka won the match, despite trailing in the first inning
As of July 2018, Sri Lanka have faced nine teams in Test cricket, only recent Test nations Afghanistan and Ireland are missing from their list of opponents, with their most frequent opponent being Pakistan, playing 55 matches against them.[38] Sri Lanka has registered more wins against Pakistan and Bangladesh than any other team, with 14.[38] In ODI matches, Sri Lanka have played against 17 teams; they have played against India most frequently, with a winning percentage of 39.49 in 149 matches.[39] Within usual major ODI nations, Sri Lanka have defeated England on 34 occasions, which is their best record in ODIs.[39] The team have competed against 13 countries in T20Is, and have played 15 matches against New Zealand. Sri Lanka have defeated Australia and West Indies 6 occasions each.[40] Sri Lanka was the best T20I team in the world, where they ranked number one in more than 32 months, and reached World Twenty20 final in three times.
As of 29 January 2024, Sri Lanka have played 313 Test matches; they have won 100 matches, lost 121 matches, and 92 matches were drawn.[41] As of 10 July 2018, Sri Lanka have played 816 ODI matches, winning 376 matches and losing 399; they also tied 5 matches, whilst 36 had no result.[42] As of 10 July 2018, Sri Lanka have played 108 T20I matches and won 54 of them; 52 were lost and 1 tied and 1 no result match as well.[43]
From 8 July 2017 to 23 October 2017, Sri Lanka lost twelve consecutive ODI matches, which is their second-longest losing run in ODIs.[44][45] In the meantime, Sri Lanka involved 5-0 whitewash in three times against South Africa, India and Pakistan in 2017. And a 3-0 whitewash against the West Indies 3 years later (2020).[46]
On 9 September 2019, Sri Lanka won the T20I series 3–0 against Pakistan in their home under Dasun Shanaka's captaincy. It was the first time that Sri Lanka whitewashed Pakistan in a T20I series.[47] In July 2021, Sri Lanka won T20I series against India 2–1, recording their first ever bilateral T20I series win against India.[48]
On 4 March 2022, Sri Lanka played their 300th Test match in Mohaliagainst India.[49] Sri Lanka lost the match by an innings and 222 runs.[50] Amid political turmoil back home, Sri Lanka won the 2022 Asia Cup, defeating Pakistan in the final on 11 September 2022.[51] On 28 April 2023, Sri Lanka won their 100th Test match against Ireland at Galle. They won the test series 2–0. They became the 8th test nation to reach this milestone.
Sri Lanka cricket was suspended, by the ICC on 10 November 2023 due to the alleged political interference with the cricket administration.[52] The suspension was fully lifted on 28 January 2024.[53]
Most of the regions of Sri Lanka that are rural areas apart from the Capital could not produce successful cricketers to the national and international side yet due to the lack of resources and opportunities while only a few major areas such as Galle, Matara, Kandy, Kurunegala usually produce successful cricketers to the national and international side instead of the capital. So the government is trying to distribute the game within the whole country by organizing some programs such as 2017–18 Super Four Provincial Tournament.
Similar to other Sri Lankan sports teams, the Sri Lankan national cricket team bears blue and yellow as their colours. The bright blue represents the surrounding ocean, while the golden yellow represents the united island as a whole (depicting the sand).[citation needed][dubious–discuss]
In Test matches, the team wears cricket whites, with an optional sweater or sweater-vest with a dark blue and blue V-neck for use in cold weather, such as on Australia, England, and New Zealand tours. The Sri Lankan flag is found on the left side of the jersey's chest with the Test cap number usually below the flag; helmets are a deep blue and the fielder's hat (usually a baseball cap or a wide-brimmed sunhat) is coloured similarly. The sponsor's logo is displayed on the right side of the chest and the sleeve with the Sri Lankan Cricket logo is deployed on the left in test cricket.
Sri Lanka's One Day and Twenty 20 kits vary from year to year with the team wearing its bright blue colour in various shades from kit to kit with yellow stripes on shoulders and waist. Historically, Sri Lanka's kits have had shades of bright blue and golden yellow. In the World Series Cup in 1984–85, Sri Lanka wore yellow uniforms with blue stripes.
For official ICC tournaments such as ICC Cricket World Cup, ICC World Twenty20 and Asia Cup, "SRI LANKA" is written on the front of the jersey in place of the sponsor logo, with the sponsor logo being placed on the sleeve. A remarkable change in the colour of the kit of Sri Lanka can be found during the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 edition in South Africa. The team-coloured with pale silver and the kit has never been seen since then in the team. Since then, the Sri Lankan kit has never changed from the usual brilliant blue colour and very fine yellow stripes. For 2016 ICC World Twenty20, orange and green colours in the flag are also included in the jersey. In 2017 ICC Champions Trophy pool game against India, the kit changed to the mostly yellow coloured shirt with stripes of blue and usual blue trousers.
At the top-right side of the jersey, instead of the logo, there can be seen Sri Lanka's flag.
Sri Lanka flag on the jersey
In 2019 for the 2019 Cricket World Cup, the Sri Lankan jersey was made from recycled plastic sea waste from the Sri Lankan coast. On the side of the blue background, there is a drawing of a turtle on the shirt.[77] However, for non-ICC tournaments and bilateral and tri-nation matches, the sponsor logo features prominently on the front of the shirt.
Logo
Sri Lanka's cricket team's logo is a golden lion with a sword bearing on the right arm and the background is bright blue. The name "Sri Lanka Cricket" is written below the lion. It's seen on the practice jersey at the top-right side.
SLC cricket team logo on the practice jersey
In Test cricket, the logo in the cap is slightly changed, where the lion with a sword is surrounded by petals of lotus and then a blue circle surrounds the crest and a yellow circle surrounds the blue circle, present in the coat of arms. This logo is seen on the front of the caps and helmets in ODIs and T20Is.
Sri Lanka cricket team logo on the helmet
Tournament history
Key
Champions
Runners-up
Semi-finals
Quarter-finals
Indicates tournaments hosted or co-hosted by Sri Lanka.
This is a list of active players who are centrally contracted with SLC or has played for Sri Lanka in the past 12 months or has been named in the recent Test, ODI or T20I squad. Uncapped players are listed in italics.
Last updated: 20 February 2024
Keys
Symbol
Meaning
C/G
Contract grade with SLC
S/N
Shirt number of the player in all formats
Format
Denotes the particular format/s played over the last year, not entire career
The period between 2000 and 2010 saw the sponsorship pass between Ceylon tea, Reebok, Mobitel Sri Lanka and Dialog Axiata; Dilmah has remained a sponsor since the early 2000s, replacing Singer, which was the main sponsor in the 1990s. Former manufacturers were Reebok, AJ Sports, Asics, ISC, and Adidas.
Currently, the main sponsors for Sri Lanka cricket are Dialog Axiata, Jat Holdings and MAS Holdings.
The Pakistan national cricket team has represented Pakistan in international cricket since 1952. It is controlled by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the governing body for cricket in Pakistan, which is a Full Member of the International Cricket Council (ICC). Pakistan compete in cricket tours and tournaments sanctioned by the PCB and other regional or international cricket bodies in Test, One Day International (ODI), and Twenty20 International (T20) formats. Pakistan are current ICC Champions Trophy holders.
The Bangladesh men's national cricket team, popularly known as The Tigers, is administered by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). It is a Full Member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) with Test, One-Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 International (T20I) status.
Kumar Chokshanada Sangakkara is a Sri Lankan former professional cricketer who represented Sri Lanka in 134 Test matches from 2000 to 2015, including fifteen as captain. In first-class cricket, he played for Nondescripts Cricket Club from 1997–98 to 2013–14 and for Surrey County Cricket Club from 2015 to 2017. He also played for numerous franchise teams. He was born in Matale, Central Province. He was a part of the Sri Lankan squads which won the 2001-02 Asian Test Championship, 2002 ICC Champions Trophy and the 2014 T20 World Cup.
Tillakaratne Mudiyanselage Dilshan, commonly known as TM Dilshan is a former Sri Lankan cricketer and former captain of the Sri Lanka national cricket team. He is often regarded as the best rated Sri Lankan player in run-chases in ODI history and one of the most innovative players of all time. He is the top run scorer in 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup with 500 runs, and scored century against England in Quater final of ICC 2011 world cup. Dilshan is considered to be a rare example of a cricketer with notable skills in all aspects of the game, who can bat, bowl, field and keep wicket. He is an aggressive right-hand batsman who invented the scoop, which has come to be known as the Dilscoop, a shot that hits the ball over the keeper. Apart from being an opening batsman, he is also a capable off-break bowler. Energetic in the field, he usually fielded at the point region. He was part of the Sri Lankan team that won the 2014 ICC World Twenty20.
Herath Mudiyanselage Rangana Keerthi Bandara Herath, known as Rangana Herath, is a former Sri Lankan cricketer, who played all forms of cricket game and a former Test cricket captain for Sri Lanka. Herath is the most successful left arm bowler in Test cricket history. He worked as spin bowling consultant with the Bangladesh cricket team. Herath was a member of the Sri Lankan team that won the 2014 ICC World Twenty20.
Denagamage Praboth Mahela de Silva Jayawardene is a Sri Lankan former professional cricketer and captain of the Sri Lankan national cricket team. He is the current consultant coach of the Sri Lankan national team and the head coach of the Indian Premier League franchise Mumbai Indians. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen from Sri Lankan cricket.
The United Arab Emirates men's national cricket team is the team that represents the United Arab Emirates in international cricket. They are governed by the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) which became an Affiliate Member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 1989 and an Associate Member the following year. Since 2005, the ICC's headquarters have been located in Dubai.
The Afghanistan men's national cricket team represents Afghanistan in international cricket. Cricket has been played in Afghanistan since the mid-19th century, but it was only in the early 21st century that the national team began to enjoy success. The Afghanistan Cricket Board was formed in 1995, becoming an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2001 and a member of the cricket confederation, Asian Cricket Council (ACC) in 2003. After nearly a decade of playing international cricket, on 22 June 2017 full ICC membership was granted to Afghanistan. Alongside Ireland, this took the number of Test cricket playing nations to twelve. Afghanistan is the first country to achieve Full Member status after holding Affiliate Membership of the ICC. In view of the persistent conflict and insecurity in Afghanistan, following this status, the team moved to a new home ground in Dehradun, in India. The current home ground of the Afghanistan Men's Cricket team is the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in the UAE.
The R. Premadasa Cricket Stadium(RPS) (Sinhala: ආර්. ප්රේමදාස ක්රීඩාංගනය, Tamil: ஆர். பிரேமதாச அரங்கம்; formerly known as Khettarama Stadium) is a cricket stadium on Khettarama Road, in the Maligawatta suburb of Colombo, Sri Lanka. The stadium was, before June 1994, known as the Khettarama Cricket Stadium and is today one of the main venues where the Sri Lankan cricket team play, having hosted more than 100 one-day international matches. It is the largest stadium in Sri Lanka with a capacity of 38,000 spectators. It has hosted the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 final between Sri Lanka and West Indies; the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy final between Sri Lanka and India and first semi-final of the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup between Sri Lanka and New Zealand. This was where the highest Test score in history was recorded; 952 by Sri Lanka against India. With capacity exceeding Lord's in England, the stadium is known as the "home of Sri Lankan cricket".
The Providence Stadium or Guyana National Stadium is a sports stadium in Guyana, replacing Bourda as the national stadium. The stadium was built specifically to host Super Eight matches in the 2007 Cricket World Cup held in March and April 2007.
Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium is a cricket stadium located in Rawalpindi, Punjab province of Pakistan. It is located close to Pir Meher Ali Shah University and Rawalpindi Arts Council. The first international match at the stadium was played on 19 January 1992, when Sri Lanka faced Pakistan in an ODI. The stadium hosted its first Test match in 1993, when Zimbabwe toured Pakistan.
Sarfaraz Ahmed is a Pakistani professional cricketer, a wicketkeeper-batsman, who plays for the Pakistani national cricket team. He was the former captain of the Pakistan side in all formats. He leads Quetta Gladiators in the Pakistan Super League. Under his captaincy, Pakistan won the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy, defeating arch-rivals India in the final. Coincidentally, during his under-19 days, he also led the Pakistan team to win the 2006 Under-19 Cricket World Cup, where they had also beat India in the final.
The 2008–09 international cricket season was between September 2008 and March 2009. The season saw the security concerns for cricket in Pakistan reach a pinnacle. The ICC Champions Trophy, scheduled to be held in Pakistan in September 2008, was postponed to 2009 after five of the participating nations refused to send their teams for the event. In November 2008, a Pakistani militant group launched terror attacks in Mumbai. This led to India cancelling their tour of Pakistan originally scheduled for January and February 2009. Sri Lanka agreed to tour Pakistan in place of India. However, the tour was jeopardised by a terror attack in Lahore where gunmen fired at a bus carrying the Sri Lankan team, injuring six team members. The Champions Trophy was later relocated to South Africa. No international cricket were played in Pakistan for more than five years. This period of isolation ended when Zimbabwe toured Pakistan in May 2015. After successfully hosting a few T20Is against World-XI, the Sri Lanka cricket team and the West Indians from 2017 to 2018, a few matches of the Pakistan Super League from 2017 to 2019, the whole season in 2020 as well as hosting complete tours against Sri Lankan and Bangladeshi cricket teams respectively during the 2019–20 season, built a good reputation of Pakistan. Hence, by the end of 2019, the Pakistan Cricket Board, announced that they would no longer play any of their future home matches at a neutral venue, indicating that International Cricket has returned to the country on full-time basis.
Mohammad Babar Azam is a Pakistani international cricketer and the current captain of the Pakistan national cricket team in limited overs formats. He is presently the only cricketer in the world ranked among the top 10 in every international format, ranking 1st amongst batters in ODIs, 4th in T20Is, and 3rd in Tests. A right-handed top-order batter, he captains Peshawar Zalmi in the PSL.
Mohammad Rizwan; born 1 June 1992) is a Pakistani international cricketer who is the current vice-captain of the Pakistan cricket team in T20I cricket and captains Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Multan Sultans. He is a wicket-keeper batsman.
Wedagedara Sadeera Rashen Samarawickrama, popularly as Sadeera Samarawickrama, is a professional Sri Lankan cricketer who represents the national team in all formats of the game. He was part of Sri Lanka's squad for the 2014 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup. He is a past pupil of Thurstan College and St. Josephs College, Colombo,Sri Lanka.
Madagamagamage Dasun Shanaka is a professional Sri Lankan cricketer and former limited overs captain of the Sri Lankan cricket team. An all-rounder, Shanaka is a right-handed batter and a right-arm medium fast bowler.
The History of the Sri Lanka national cricket team began with the formation of the Colombo Cricket Club in 1832. By the 1880s a national team, the Ceylon national cricket team, was formed which began playing first-class cricket by the 1920s. The Ceylon national cricket team had achieved associate member status of the International Cricket Council in 1965. Renamed Sri Lanka in 1972, the national team first competed in top level international cricket in 1975, when they played against West Indies during 1975 Cricket World Cup; West Indies won the match by 9 wickets at Old Trafford, Manchester, England.
↑ "1996 ODI Rankings". icc-cricket.org. International Cricket Council. 20 March 2013. Archived from the original on 20 March 2013. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
↑ "1996 ODI Rankings". icc-cricket.org. International Cricket Council. 20 March 2013. Archived from the original on 20 March 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
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England at P. Sara Oval, Colombo; 17–21 February 1982
Bangladesh at Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chattogram; 30 March –3 April 2024
West Indies at Old Trafford, Manchester; 7 June 1975
Champions (1996)
Netherlands at Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, Gros Islet; 16 June 2024
