Chamari Atapattu will look to lead from the front as Sri Lanka try to advance from the group stage for the first time
World T20 preview: Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka squad: Chamari Atapattu (c), Nilakshi de Silva, Kavisha Dilhari, Ama Kanchana, Sugandika Kumari, Eshani Lokusooriya, Dilani Manodara, Yashoda Mendis, Hasini Perera, Udeshika Prabodani, Inoshi Priyadarshani, Oshadhi Ranasinghe, Shashikala Siriwardena, Rebeka Vandort, Sripali Weearakkody
Fixtures: 10 November v England, 12 November v South Africa, 14 November v Bangladesh, 16 November v West Indies
Best result: Group stage (2009, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016)
ICC ranking: 8th
The talking point: Sri Lanka captain Chamari Atapattu, who scored 178no against Australia in last year’s 50-over World Cup and who played for the Renegades in last summer’s Rebel WBBL, leads a side looking to improve after a recent series defeat to India.
The star: The experienced Atapattu is her team’s top-ranked T20 batter and has been elevated to the captaincy since her heroics against Australia in last year’s World Cup. The first Sri Lankan woman to score an ODI century, her absence was sorely felt by her team during this year’s Asia Cup, which she missed while suffering from dengue fever, before she returned to be her team’s leading run scorer in their recent T20I series against India. Atapattu has already proved she has the skills and confidence to take on the world’s best bowling attacks, and her experience playing in the Rebel WBBL last summer will have her better equipped than ever.
The one to watch: Teenage allrounder Kavisha Dilhari earned a maiden T20I call-up for Sri Lanka in September after making a splash in an ODI victory over India. The 17-year-old has been earmarked as a star in the making for Sri Lanka and made her international debut against Pakistan in March. She showed her grit against India in September when she picked up the key wicket of Harmanpreet Kaur before holding her nerve with the bat to seal victory off the penultimate ball of the match, securing Sri Lanka’s highest ever ODI run chase.
The verdict: Sri Lanka are coming off a 4-0 T20 series defeat to India and have won only three of their 15 most recent matches in the format, so it is difficult to see them pushing for a semi-finals berth. But they’re certainly capable of causing an upset, as seen in the 2016 tournament when they defeated higher-ranked South Africa by 10 runs, and with skipper Atapattu at the helm, teams can’t afford to take Sri Lanka lightly.
2018 ICC Women's World T20
Australia squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Nicole Bolton, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy (wk), Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Elyse Villani, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham
November 9: Australia v Pakistan, Province Stadium, Guyana
November 11: Australia v Ireland, Province Stadium
November 13: Australia v New Zealand, Province Stadium
November 17: Australia v India, Province Stadium
November 22: Semi-finals, Sir Vivian Richards Ground, Antigua
November 24: Final, Sir Vivian Richards Ground