Maheesh Theekshana likely to make Test debut against Australia

Dimuth Karunaratne, on Thursday (July 7th), hinted at a potential Test debut for mystery right-arm off-spinner Maheesh Theekshana ahead of the second Test against Australia, commencing from July 8th in Galle.

Sri Lanka suffered another blow on Thursday after three of their players tested positive for Covid-19, making it a total of 5 cases in the Sri Lankan camp this series. Dhananjaya de Silva, Jeffrey Vandersay and Asitha Fernando tested positive for the virus on Thursday and were ruled out of the second Test match at Galle. Earlier, Praveen Jayawickrama tested positive for the virus on Monday and 

Amid Sri Lanka's Covid outbreak, Karunaratne confirmed that Maheesh Theekshana will make his Test debut as a replacement for batting all-rounder Dhananjaya de Silva. 

"Maheesh, because we don't have Dhananjaya de Silva as a second off-spin bowler as they have plenty of left-handers in top-order," Karunaratne said on Thursday.

Captain Karunaratne backs Theekshana to crack Test cricket.

Theekshana, who is known for his ability to turn the ball both ways, has been pretty impressive in the amount of white ball cricket he has played for Sri Lanka. He took four wickets in the recently concluded ODI series against Australia and troubled the visitors with his mystery spin. Karunaratne is backing the 21-year-old to do the same in the longest format of the game.

"He is a good bowler. We saw him giving trouble to the left-handers and the right-handers in one-dayers," said Karunaratne.

"Hopefully, he does the same thing. Just want him to do the same thing he did in the ODIs, keep it simple."

19-year-old Wellalage is on the line as well.

The star kid from the ODI series, Dunith Wellalage, who finished the series as the top wicket-taker, could also be handed a Test cap against Australia. 

The 19-year-old took 9 wickets with his left-arm spin and contributed massively to win the series 3-2.

"We are not thinking about a third spinner yet. First, we are going to have the (Covid) tests and think about whether we want to play an all-rounder in Dunith or spinner in Lakshan Sandakan," Karunaratne said. 

However, left-arm-spinner Prabath Jayasuriya is ahead in the race to make his Test debut after Praveen Jayawickrama was ruled out of the second Test. 

"All the spinners are available in the 13-man squad, so if they are cleared to play, we can use Prabath (Jayasuriya) as a left-arm spinner," Karunaratne concluded.