Sri Lankan minister approves team

COLOMBO, JULY 13. Sri Lanka's sports ministry on Friday approved the 15-man cricket team as named by the National selectors last week to play in the forthcoming one-day triangular series featuring apart from the host India and New Zealand, despite its reservations over the omission of one player.

The Sri Lankan cricket board officially announced the unchanged squad this evening, mentioning in its press release that the ministry of tourism and sports has approved the squad.

A ministry official said on Thursday that Sports Minister Lakshman Kiriella was unhappy over the omission of off- spinner Thilan Samaraweera, who led the Sri Lanka `A' side against Pakistan `A' in a recent unofficial Test and one-day series and came up with an impressive performance.

However, cricket board sources said on Friday that the minister has chosen not to make an issue of it as he felt that meddling with the selection would set a wrong precedence, even if there was a genuine cause for concern over any particular selection or omission.

Kiriella, whose approval of National squads is normally only a formality, was worried that ignoring impressive performances in the second string side while selecting the National team would demoralise talented players, a ministry official had said.

The team: Sanath Jayasuriya (captain), Marvan Atapattu, Mahela Jayawardena, Russell Arnold, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Avishka Gunawardena, Kumar Sangakkara, Chamara Silva, Muttiah Muralitharan, Chaminda Vaas, Nuwan Zoysa, Dilhara Fernando, Suresh Perera, Kumar Dharmasena and Dulip Liyanage.

- PTI

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