Sri Lanka skipper Dimuth Karunaratne said that Lasith Embuldeniya would be the only spinner that Sri Lanka would go in with for the first Test match against the West Indies which will commence today at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua.
He made the disclosure at a video media conference and said the wickets will mostly suit the pace bowlers while the toss will play a crucial role in the series because of the use of the Duke ball.
Karunaratne further said that Wanindu Hasaranga injured himself during the ODIs and has returned home with Lakshan Sandakan kept as cover.
“I don’t think we will get an opportunity to play two spinners on these surfaces and if we need one more there is always Dhananjaya de Silva with his off-breaks”, said Karunaratne.
Dhananjaya also bowled well at the practice game to take three wickets .
“With the Duke ball there is always late swing for the fast bowlers. We are playing with the Duke ball after a long time and we don’t have as much practice against it.
“We got an idea of how the West Indies fast bowlers will bowl with it during the two-day practice game. The wicket here is always helpful to the fast bowlers on the first two days,” said Karunaratne.
“We have experienced bowlers in Suranga Lakmal, Dushmantha Chameera, Vishwa Fernando and Asitha Fernando and I expect them to deliver. I think our bowlers can perform better in the Tests than what we saw in the ODIs where they struggled to get wickets because the wickets were flat. I don’t think we will see that kind of wickets in the Tests,” he said.