Sri Lanka Announces New Captain for T20 World Cup 2026

The stage is all set for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 as the mega event is all set to take place from February 7 to March 8 in India and Sri Lanka. For only the second time, the tournament will feature 20 teams and it is expected to be a blockbuster clash.

The ICC T20 World Cup 2026 will be an important tournament for all the teams, in particular Sri Lanka. After having the last few years of struggle, they have found their feet back in international cricket and would want to make a massive impact.

With the tournament being played at home, there will be a lot of expectations for Sri Lanka in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, where they will play the best cricket teams in the world.

Who Will Be Sri Lanka Captain for T20 World Cup 2026?

Ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup 2026, Sri Lanka made a massive change to their leadership group. Charith Asalanka has been removed as the captain and it will be former captain Dasun Shanaka, who will take over the charge of the team in the shortest format of the game.

The development was confirmed by the newly elected Chief Selector Pramodya Wickramasinghe. He made the statement public on Friday, saying that the all-rounder will take over the reins of the team from the series against Pakistan and England.

Dasun Shanaka, who is touted as one of the best all-rounders in the world, would be keen to make an impact and take his team to a title. The all-rounder played a massive role in reshaping Sri Lanka and has been trusted to lead the team in a mega event.

Sri Lanka have some big match-winners in their team and if they play to their potential, they will be one of the hot favourites to win the title. At home, they would be keen to play their best cricket and win the tournament. They will hope that under Dasun Shanaka captaincy, they will produce their best cricket.

Sri Lanka will open their campaign against Ireland in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 on February 8. Following that, they will be up against Oman on February 12 before taking on Australia and Zimbabwe in their last league games on February 16 and 19 respectively.

Sri Lanka 25 Member Squad for T20 World Cup 2026

Wickremesinghe also retained the 25-member squad, which the previous selection committee had named. The new committee has decided not to make any changes to that squad and they will be cut shortening the 25-member team to 15 soon. Here is the 25 member Sri Lanka squad for T20 World Cup 2026:

Dasun Shanaka (captain), Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera, Dhananjaya de Silva, Niroshan Dickwella, Janith Liyanage, Charith Asalanka, Kamindu Mendis, Pawan Rathnayake, Sahan Arachchige, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dunith Wellalage, Milan Ratnayake, Nuwan Thushara, Eshan Malinga, Dushmantha Chameera, Pramod Madushan, Matheesha Pathirana, Dilshan Madushanka, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushan Hemantha, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, Travin Mathew, Kamil Mishara