Squads –
ENG –
Jason Roy, Jos Buttler(w), Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow, Eoin Morgan(c), Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood, David Willey, Liam Dawson, Sam Billings, Tom Curran, Liam Livingstone
SL –
Danushka Gunathilaka, Avishka Fernando, Kusal Perera(w/c), Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Isuru Udana, Nuwan Pradeep, Lakshan Sandakan, Dushmantha Chameera, Niroshan Dickwella, Ishan Jayaratne , Akila Dananjaya, Binura Fernando, Chamika Karunaratne, Charith Asalanka, Asitha Fernando, Oshada Fernando, Praveen Jayawickrama, Dhananjaya Lakshan, Pathum Nissanka, Shiran Fernando, Ramesh Mendis
Team Blueprint –
ENG –
– England will be playing against Sri Lanka 3 T20Is and 3 ODIs in Bristol and Cardiff. The world champs will start as favorates.
– England will be without Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes due to some injury concerns while have included David Willey and Chris Woakes into the squad after a big break.
– Jason Roy and Jos Buttler will open the innings. Both were in decent form this Blast. Buttler scored a ton in his last game in the IPL.
– World’s No 1 t20 batsman Dawid Malan will bat at 1 down. He is the fastest man to 1000 t20 runs.
– Jonny Bairstow will bat at 2 down followed by skipper Morgan at 5. Bairstow is in red hot form being the highest scorer in blast 2021.
– Moeen Ali and Sam Curran will play the Allrounders role in absence of Stokes.
– Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali will lead the spin attack.
– Chris Jordan, Mark Wood, Sam Curran and any 1 of Woakes or Willey will form a 4 men pace attack for England.
SL –
– Sri Lanka has been going through their worst run currently. They have won just 5 of their last 19 t20s.
– They have been continuously making experiments in their squads which is a result they are 8th in the rankings.
– Danushka Gunathilaka and Avishka Fernando will likely be the openers for Lanka. Gunathilaka has been in brilliant form and will look to continue his form.
– Captain Perera will bat 1 down and keep the Wickets. He can also open shifting Avishka to 3.
– Kusal Mendis will bat at 2 down with either Oshada Fernando or Nissanka at 5.
– Dhananjaya De Silva will bat next and will be an important part as will contribute through both bat and bowl.
– Wanindu Hasaranga and De Silva will be the spin options. Hasaranga has emerged as a very good Allrounder in the last year and half.
– Isuru Udana, Dushmantha Chameera and Nuwan Pradeep will lead the pace attack.
Probable XI –
ENG –
Jason Roy, Jos Buttler (WK), Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow, Eoin Morgan (C), Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes/David Willey, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood
SL –
Danushka Gunathilaka, Avishka Fernando, Kusal Perera (C/WK), Kusal Mendis, Oshada Fernando/P Nissanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka/Ramesh Mendis, Wanindu Hasaranga, Isuru Udana, Dushmantha Chameera, Nuwan Pradeep
Pitch Report –
Sophia Gardens, Cardiff
Cardiff has been a low scoring venue in the T20 blast this year with an average run rate of 7.59. No rain is expected and we can witness a full game.
Team Blueprint –
WK –
Jos Buttler( Open, RHB, Averages 44 against SL with 188 runs, 127 runs in 5 games this blast )
J Bairstow( 2 down, RHB, very aggressive hitter, 295 runs in just 5 games , Must have )
K Perera( Open/1 down, LHB + wk, attacking batsman, 2 40+ scores in last 3 games, must have )
N Dickwella( Middle order, LHB, attacks from the very first ball, not getting much chances to play, 450 t20 runs at a sr of 134)
BAT –
D Malan( 1 down, LHB, #1 batsman in t20s, Averages 77 on this ground, can’t miss him)
Eoin Morgan( 2/3 down, LHB, aggressive hitter, 133 runs in 5 games this blast)
D Gunathilaka( Open, LHB + part time off spin, brilliant form, 526 t20 runs, Must have)
Jason Roy( Open, RHB, very attacking batsman, 133 runs in 5 games this blast, 178 runs in 7 games at Cardiff)
Kusal Mendis( 2 down, RHB, experienced but poor form, 484 t20 runs in 26 Innings)
Avishka Fernando( Open/1 down, RHB, very aggressive batsman, was out from Cricket for a long time, haven’t played against England yet )
Liam Livingston( Middle order, opens in domestic circuit, hard hitter + leg spin, can play but will not be much useful in SL )
ALL –
D De Silva( Middle order, RHB + off spin, good Allrounder, plays a bit slow)
Sam Curran( Left arm medium fast + LHB, attacking Batsman down the order, 9 Wickets in 7 games this IPL, must have)
W Hasaranga( Leg spin + RHB, emerged as an proper Allrounder, 9 Wickets in last 4 games, Must have)
Moeen Ali( Middle order + off spin, bats 1 down in domestic circuit as well as IPL, 206 runs + 5 Wickets this IPL, will not be must useful with the bat )
BOWL –
Adil Rashid( Leggie, has been very successful for England in the shortest format with 55 t20i Wickets, Must have)
Isuru Udana( Left arm medium fast, very experienced, 162 t20 carrer Wickets, Must especially while bowling 1st )
Chris Woakes( Right Arm Fast medium, knowm for his swing, also very good at the death, Must have)
Nuwan Pradeep( Medium fast, experienced, 15 t20 Wickets, haven’t been playing more International Cricket)
D Chameera( Right Arm Fast, hit the deck bowler, 5 Wickets in last 4 games, Must have)
Chris Jordan( Right Arm medium fast, known for his death bowling, Must have)
Mark Wood( Right Arm Fast, known for his pace and bounce, 4 Wickets in 3 t20s against India recently, Must have)
Tom Curran( Medium fast, known for his variations, 3 Wickets in 3 games this blast, 26 t20i Wickets)
David Willey( Left arm medium fast, relies a lot on swing, can also bat, 7 Wickets in 3 games in Blast recently)
L Sandakan ( Chinnaman bowler, 6 Wickets in 2 games last t20 series against WI, can try)
C/VC –
ENG –
Jason Roy
Jos Buttler
Jonny Bairstow
Dawid Malan
SL –
Wanindu Hasaranga
Kusal Perera
Dhanushka Gunathilaka