Dhananjaya de Silva is hopeful that strong performances by his Sri Lanka teammates in England could lead to more opportunities in county cricket, particularly for their batters. He believes that gaining experience in county cricket would be highly advantageous for their development.
Since 2021, counties have been permitted to field two overseas players in their XI across all formats. This, along with relaxed visa requirements, has allowed several players with little or no international experience to secure contracts. However, Sri Lankan players have often been overlooked, partly due to their busy touring schedule.
Among the current 18-man touring squad, Vishwa Fernando is the only one who has participated in the County Championship this year, playing three matches for Yorkshire following two appearances for Durham last season. Dimuth Karunaratne and Asitha Fernando have also had brief stints in the past with Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire, respectively. Dinesh Chandimal, while speaking in Manchester, shared that he has been striving to land a county contract but without success. Chandimal, who has scored 15 Test centuries, expressed his hope that performing well in this series might finally earn him a county deal, fulfilling his dream of playing a full season of county cricket.
Ahead of the second Test at Lord's on Thursday, Dhananjaya echoed Chandimal's sentiments and shared his own desire to play in the County Championship. He highlighted that playing in English conditions would be particularly beneficial for the batters, noting that they currently only get the opportunity to do so while on tour. He added that securing county cricket contracts would be a valuable experience for the batters.
Sri Lanka's international schedule has a three-month break after the Champions Trophy, which could potentially allow some of their Test players to participate in the early stages of the county season. Wanindu Hasaranga, who is not part of the Test squad, has signed with Manchester Originals in the Hundred on two occasions but has been denied No-Objection Certificates by Sri Lanka Cricket.
Dhananjaya also mentioned that Sri Lanka has prepared well for the second Test and confirmed two changes to the lineup, with Pathum Nissanka and Lahiru Kumara replacing Kusal Mendis and Vishwa Fernando. He praised Nissanka as the best batter in the country at the moment, citing his strong mindset and solid technique.
Commenting on the absence of Mark Wood, Dhananjaya suggested that facing Chris Woakes had been more challenging. He noted that it wasn't the speed but Woakes' consistent line and length, combined with the swinging ball, that posed the real challenge. Dhananjaya expressed confidence that if their plans work out, Sri Lanka could gain the upper hand in the upcoming Test.