Dasun Shanaka replaces Asalanka as Sri Lanka's T20I captain for World Cup

New Delhi [India], December 19 : Dasun Shanaka has been named as Sri Lanka's T20I captain until the conclusion of the upcoming T20 World Cup, as per ESPNcricinfo.
New chief selector Pramodya Wickramasinghe announced Shanaka as captain while unveiling Sri Lanka's preliminary squad for the global tournament. The leadership change sees Shanaka replace Charith Asalanka, who had taken over the role after the last T20 World Cup in mid-2024.
"We decided that Dasun Shanaka should be captain until the end of the World Cup, after talking to head coach Sanath Jayasuriya as well," Wickramasinghe said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.
"The previous committee had chosen a list of 25 players. We spoke to Jerome Jayaratne, the head of the high performance, as well as Sanath Jayasuriya. We decided to announce that same 25 as a preliminary squad for the World Cup," he noted.
"We are looking at Dasun as an allrounder. We'll have to talk to Sanath Jayasuriya and work out what is required of him," he added.
Shanaka had recently led Sri Lanka during the tri-series in Pakistan as a stand-in skipper, after Asalanka was sent back home due to illness, although standard protocol is to keep unwell players within the team for a minor illness of the kind Asalanka had. Sri Lanka suffered a defeat against Zimbabwe during the series, they still managed to qualify for the final, where they were comprehensively beaten by Pakistan.
"For now we've got to continue with what the previous committee was doing," Wickramasinghe said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.
"They had been following a plan. If I were to come in and change a lot of things, that would not be ideal. My plan is to keep this team together for the World Cup, and then see how best we can build after that," he noted.
Despite being removed as captain, Asalanka has retained his place in the squad. Asalanka has scored 156 runs from 12 innings in 2025 at a strike rate of 122, with his overall T20I strike rate standing at 126. However, Wickramasinghe made it clear that Asalanka remains very much part of the selectors' plans going forward.
The preliminary squad has also brought back Niroshan Dickwella into the mix. The wicketkeeper-batter last represented Sri Lanka in March 2023, and that too in the Test format. According to Wickramasinghe, the team management is keen on having a top-order batter who can also keep wickets, which has reopened the door for Dickwella's return to the T20 setup.
Sri Lanka preliminary World Cup squad: Dasun Shanaka (Captain), Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Kamil Mishara, Kusal Perera, Dhananjaya de Silva, Niroshan Dickwella, Janith Liyanage, Charith Asalanka, Kamindu Mendis, Pavan Rathnayake, Sahan Arachchige, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dunith Wellalage, Milan Rathnayake, Nuwan Thushara, Eshan Malinga, Dushmantha Chameera, Pramod Madushan, Matheesha Pathirana, Dilshan Madushanka, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushan Hemantha, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth and Traveen Mathew.