- Vishmi named as Sri Lanka’s skipper for U19 Women’s T20 World Cup.
- She has played nine T20Is and made her ODI debut last year.
- Sri Lanka is paired alongside Australia, Bangladesh, and United States.
On Thursday, Vishmi Gunaratne was chosen to lead Sri Lanka in the inaugural ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup, which will take place in South Africa from January 14–29.
In addition to participating in the Women’s T20 competition at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, Vishmi, 17, has played in nine T20Is and her first ODI last year. She is the only member of Sri Lanka’s U19 team with experience playing on a senior women’s team. The Sri Lanka U19 team, which participated in a quadrangular T20 series in Visakhapatnam late last year, was also captained by Vishmi.
Vishmi, a right-handed batter who excels in club and school cricket at home and made her senior women’s international debut last year, has shown a lot of promise, scoring 45 runs against India in the T20I encounter at Dambulla, Sri Lanka, in June 2022.
The U19 team leaves for South Africa on Friday under the direction of Shashikala Siriwardene, a former off-spinner for Sri Lanka. In Group A of the competition, Sri Lanka is paired alongside Australia, Bangladesh, and the United States.
On January 14 in Benoni, they play their opening match against the USA. On January 16, Bangladesh will play Sri Lanka at the same location, while on January 18, Australia will play Sri Lanka at Willowmoore Park in Benoni.
The top three teams from each group in the 16-team event, which is divided into four groups, advance to the Super Six phase, where teams are grouped into two groups of six.
The top two teams from each group advance to the semi-final matches, which will take place on January 27 at Potchefstroom’s JB Marks Oval. On January 29, the final will be held at the same location.
Squad: Vishmi Gunaratne (captain), Dahami Sanethma, Umaya Rathnayake, Rashmi Nethranjalee, Rashmika Sewwandi, Dewmi Vihanga, Manudi Nanayakkara, Sumudu Nisansala, Pamoda Shaini, Vidushika Perera, Dulanga Dissanayake, Rishmi Sanjana, Nethmi Senarathne, Harini Perera, Vihara Sewwandi
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