Sri Lanka leave out Malinga

Pace spearhead Lasith Malinga has been rested for the opening Test of Sri Lanka’s home series against West Indies.

Malinga will miss the Galle showdown, which starts on November 15, because of his heavy workload during the recent tour of Australia and a lingering knee problem.

He was man-of-the-series as Sri Lanka triumphed 2-1 in the one-day internationals Down Under – their first series victory of any sort on Australian soil.

In Malinga’s absence, the selectors have named a 16-man squad to take on West Indies, including a quartet of seamers – Dammika Prasad, Dilhara Fernando, Thilan Thushara and Suranga Lakmal.

Sri Lanka squad: K Sangakkara (capt, wkt), M Jayawardene, T Dilshan, T Paranavitana, T Samaraweera, A Mathews, P Jayawardene (wkt), T Kandamby, A Mendis, S Randiv, R Herath, K Silva, D Prasad, D Fernando, T Thushara, S Lakmal