Atapattu dropped for second Test

Sri Lanka, 1-0 up in their three-Test series against Zimbabwe, have dropped vice-captain and opening batsman Marvan Atapattu for the second Test starting at the Asgiriya International Stadium on Friday.

Atapattu, who made only 25 in Sri Lanka's first innings of 586 for six declared in the Colombo series opener, is a veteran of 52 Test matches but was replaced by Chamara Silva in a 14-man squad named on Thursday.

Silva, 22, is a right-hand middle-order batsman who hit a match-winning 127 off 118 balls for a Sri Lankan Board XI against Zimbabwe in a three-day tour game last month.

But captain Sanath Jayasuriya, who has regularly opened Sri Lanka's batting with Atapattu in Test matches, was surprised that his vice-skipper had been dropped from the squad by the selectors.

"At the moment, I can't tell you who my opening partner will be," Jayasuriya said.

"I'll have to have a discussion with the coach and decide on that. Unfortunately (coach) Dav (Whatmore) couldn't be present today because he was sick.

"We have a few options to open -- with either Kumar Sangakkara or Russel Arnold. (But) we don't have a specialist opener to open with me in the absence of Marvan.

"Marvan is one of the key players in the team...I have to take added responsibility without Marvan because I always consult him and the (other) senior players before we take any decisions."

Zimbabwe lost the first Test in Colombo by an innings and 166 runs but captain Stuart Carlisle is confident his side can bounce back in Kandy.

"This pitch gives our seamers a chance to exploit against the Sri Lankan batsmen," Carlisle said.

"We have gone through the mistakes we made in the first Test where we were also unlucky with certain decisions."

Sri Lanka squad:
Sanath Jayasuriya (captain),
Russel Arnold,
Kumar Sangakkara,
Mahela Jayawardene,
Hashan Tillakaratne,
Chamara Silva,
Tilan Samaraweera,
Chaminda Vaas,
Nuwan Zoysa,
Muttiah Muralitharan,
Prabath Nissanka,
Buddhika Fernando,
Upul Chandana,
Niroshan Bandaratillake.

Mail Cricket Editor