Sri Lanka opener Kaushal Silva has recovered from a blow to the head he suffered while fielding last weekend to be named in the Test squad for next month’s tour of England. The 29-year-old Silva was airlifted to a Colombo hospital on Sunday after being hit on the head while fielding at short leg in a practice match at Pallekele, where the team were preparing for the tour.
Silva reportedly took evasive action but was struck on the back of his helmet, luckily on a padded section which has been added as extra protection to designs since Australian Phillip Hughes died in 2014 after being hit on the head by a bouncer.
Silva was discharged from hospital on Tuesday after recovering from what his country’s board called “a mild concussion” and returns to the Test squad after being axed for the New Zealand tour late last year.
Sri Lanka also included rookie batsmen Dasun Shanaka and Dhananjaya de Silva in a 17-man squad to be led by Angelo Mathews. Lahiru Thirimanne, recovering from a hamstring injury, also found a place in the squad but is a doubt for the first Test at Leeds from May 19.
Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath, who quit limited overs cricket earlier this month to focus solely on Tests, will spearhead Sri Lanka’s spin attack. Chester-le-Street hosts the second Test from May 27, followed by the third and final match at Lord’s from June 9.
Sri Lanka Test squad:
Angelo Matthews (captain), Dhananjaya Silva, Dasun Shanaka, Dhammika Prasad, Dilruwan Perera, Dimuth Karunaratne, Dinesh Chandimal, Dushmantha Chameera, Kaushal Silva, Kusal Mendis, Lahiru Thirimanne, Milinda Siriwardana, Niroshan Dickwella, Nuwan Pradeep, Rangana Herath, Shaminda Eranga, Suranga Lakmal .

Disgraced Bangladesh cricketer seeks comeback
A Bangladeshi Test cricketer banned from the game after he was charged with torturing an 11-year-old girl he employed as a maid apologised yesterday and appealed to be allowed to return to the game.
Shahadat Hossain, who has denied abusing the girl in the past, apologised for what he called his “misdeed” and said he had made a mistake. “I regret the unwarranted incident I was involved in and apologise to the whole nation,” he said in a statement in Bengali.
“For the sake of cricket and my livelihood, I want to return to cricket. I appeal to the nation, the BCB (Bangladesh Cricket Board), to allow me to return to cricket and correct my mistake. I apologise for my misdeed,” he said.
The 29-year-old pace bowler played 38 Tests and 51 one-day internationals before he was suspended from all forms of the game. Bangladeshi police charged him and his wife, Nritto Shahadat, with assault and torture in December after the young girl was found crying on a roadside, her eyes bruised and swollen.
The couple went into hiding after police raided their house in September when the girl alleged they had beaten and tortured her. Television footage showed her looking frail and thin and police said one of her hands had been burnt with a hot cooking implement.
He spent two months in custody after he handed himself in to police on October 5 and has since been released on bail, as has his wife. A judge has ordered that the couple face trial, and if convicted they face up to 14 years in jail.