The Bangladesh Cricket Board has invited 25 of Sri Lanka’s top cricketers for the BPL, but Sri Lanka Cricket interim committee has taken a decision not to grant them permission to participate as they want the players to be focussed on the upcoming tour of New Zealand starting next month.

The list of players invited includes those from the National, ‘A’ and T20 teams who will be involved in matches during the New Zealand tour.

Those invited are: Chamara Kapugedera, Dilshan Munaweera, Shehan Jayasuriya, Isuru Udana, Dilruwan Perera, Chaturanga de Silva, Farveez Maharoof, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dhammika Prasad, Milinda Siriwardana, Tharanga Paranavitana, Kosala Kulasekara, Binura Fernando, Ajantha Mendis, Lahiru Thirimanne, Kituruwan Vithanage, Niroshan Dickwella, Prasanna Jayawardene, Ashan Priyanjan, Sachith Pathirana, Sachitra Senanayake, Nuwan Kulasekara, Seekkuge Prasanna, Upul Tharanga, Jeevan Mendis.

“We have not approved the players contracted to us centrally and provincially because we have an important tour of New Zealand coming up and want them to be fully concentrated on it,” said Sri Lanka Cricket’s Head of Operations Carlton Bernadus.

“Recently Sri Lanka Cricket enhanced the fees for all the players participating in our domestic tournaments,” he pointed out.

Bernadus said the respective clubs were responsible for releasing cricketers who are outside the SLC contracts.

Sri Lanka and Pakistan will renew their rivalry in the One Day format when the two teams meet each other in a day game starting today at the Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium

Pakistan having already clinched the Test series 2/1 has been elevated to number three in the Test ranking , will now look forward to winning the ODI series against Sri Lanka which will make them eligible to take part in the 2017 Champions Trophy to be held in England.

Pakistan at the moment is placed ninth in the ICC ODI rankings, and they will have to beat Sri Lanka to go one step up and occupy the number eight spot to play in the Champions Trophy.

While the visitors will go all out to achieve their objective ,Sri Lanka will try to make amends by winning the series as they did on the last occasion when the two teams met last August. Sri Lanka beat Pakistan at the same venue.

The Lankans with the return of veteran T.M.Dilshan, explosive opener Kusal Janith Perera and with the experience of Angelo Mathews, Lahiru Thirmanne, Upul Tharanga, Dinesh Chandimal and Thisara Perera should hold the batting together.

The return of Lasith Malinga along with Seekuge Prasanna and Sachitra Senanayake should provide variety in the bowling.

The Pakistanis too are in a team building process. They will be led by Azhar Ali the prolific run scorer. And there are wicket keeper Sarfraz Ahmed, Mohammed Hafeez Ahmed Shehzad, and Ashad Shafiq. With the absence of Riyaz Wahab who was injured during the first Test in Galle, the six foot seven inch Mohammed Irfan Rahat Ali and Yasir Shah should form a good combination.

The teams:

Sri Lanka (from): Angelo Mathews (Captain) T.M.Dilshan, Kusal Janith Perera, Upul Tharanga, Lahiru Thirimanne, Dinesh Chandimal, Milinda Siriwardene, Ashan Priyanjan, Nuwan Pradeep, Thisara Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Lasith Malinga, Sachitra Senanayake, Seekuge Prasanna, Sachith Pathirana.

Pakistan (from): Azhar Ali (Captain), Sarfraz Ahmed (V.Captain), Mohammed Hafeez, Ahmed Shehzad, Azar Shafiq, Imad Wasim, Shoib Malik, Yasir Shah, Rahat Ali, Barba Azam, Bilal Asif, Eshan Adil, Mohammed Irfan.