Sri Lanka squad for the Commonwealth Games 2018

Chairman of the national rugby selectors Michael Jayasekera announced the final squad this morning. The team will leave to Gold Coast, Australia tonight to compete in the XXI Commonwealth Games. The opening ceremony will take place on the 4th April 2018.

After a successful stint at the Borneo7s in Malaysia, Sri Lanka sevens outfit will gear them up for one of the best competitions in the globe which is also a biggest challenge for the islanders. 

Players who will miss from Borneo 7s squad are namely Reeza Raffaideen, Kevin Dixon, Buddima Piyarathne, Chanaka Chandimal and Sithum Peiris. The inclusions are the experience Kandy trio Srinath Sooriyabandara, Danushka Ranjan, Richard Dharmapala, Hirantha Perera of Havelocks and the last year's under 20 sevens skipper Naveen Henakankanamage. 

On the selection process Mr. Jayasekera stated that "We opted for a combination of youth and experience based on which there was a couple of players who performed well in Borneo but we had to reconsider and unfortunately we left out because we want to add some youth and experience. This is the tournament which all the top sides in the world will be present so we felt a blend of youth and experience what we need." 

Sri Lanka will play against the Olympic gold medalist Fiji followed by Wales and Uganda on the 14th of April. 

The touring squad :

Sudarshana Muthuthanthri (C)

Srinath Sooriyabandara

Danushka Ranjan

Richard Dharmapala

Kavindu Perera

Hirantha Perera

Tarinda Ratwatte

Danush Dayan

Rehan Silva

Sudam Sooriarachchi

Adeesha Weerathunga

Naveen Henakankanamage