Sri Lanka name rookie spinner for NZ Test series

Colombo: Sri Lanka have named uncapped teenage off-spinner Tharindu Kaushal in their squad for the two-Test series against New Zealand starting at Galle on November 17.

Kaushal represented Sri Lanka at the Under-19 World Cup in Australia earlier this year and is a member of the Sri Lanka one-day squad currently playing New Zealand in a five-match series.

“Kaushal has a lot of potential and we have included him in the squad to [help him] get the feel of being in the presence of senior players and train with them,” chief selector Ashantha de Mel said on Friday.

Kaushal, who has not played a first-class match yet, almost certainly will not make his debut in the Galle Test, where off-spinner Suraj Randiv is expected to join experienced left-arm spinner Rangana Herath in the playing XI.

“We will see how the other off-spinner Suraj Randiv bowls in the first Test and then decide whether we should take a gamble with Kaushal,” de Mel said.

Colombo hosts the second Test from November 25.