Sri Lanka drop Siriwardana for first Australia Test

Milinda Siriwardana, who captained the Sri Lankan Board XI in the lone tour match against Australia, has been dropped from the 15-man squad for the first Test of the three-match series against the Steve Smith-led side starting on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, four uncapped players namely, pacers Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando and Lakshan Sandakan, and batsman Roshen Silva have all earned a national call-up to face the Australians.

All-rounder Dhananjaya de Silva, who made his ODI debut against Ireland in June, has also been named in the Lanka squad, which is led by Angelo Mathews and vice-captained by Dinesh Chandimal.

Besides, Rangana Herath and Dilruwan Perera have been roped in to strengthen spin attack while Nuwan Pradeep and Suranga Lakmal headlined the fast-bowling department.