Ravi Thakur - Saturday, Sep 20, 2025The Sri Lankan team, which is in excellent form in the Asia Cup 2025, has suffered a major setback ahead of Saturday's match against Bangladesh. 22-year-old all-rounder Dunith Welalage has returned to the team. Dunith Welalage had returned home after the match against Afghanistan due to the death of his father, Suranga (54), who died of a heart attack. The young player was given the sad news after the match against Afghanistan. He returned home on the earliest available flight along with team manager Mahinda Halangode.
Sri Lanka Cricket issued a statement on Friday saying, "The Sri Lankan team will begin its Super 4 stage campaign in the UAE against Bangladesh. Velalage will be available for selection for the match." Following the match against Bangladesh, the Sri Lankan team will face Pakistan on September 23 and India on August 26.
In the match against Afghanistan, Dunith Welalage took one wicket for 49 runs in his four-over spell. Sri Lanka won the match by six wickets. Kusal Mendis also performed brilliantly with the bat, scoring an unbeaten 74 off 52 balls. Welalage has represented Sri Lanka in 31 ODIs and five T20 Internationals.
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