The 30-year-old Siriwardana, who made his Test debut against West Indies in October 2015, has played five Test matches so far. Siriwardana featured in only one game during the three-Test series against England and will be eager to come up with a solid performance against the touring Australians to make a case for his selection for the Test series.
With injury concerns plaguing the national team, the Sri Lankan selectors will be picking squads on a match-by-match basis for the three-Tests series against Australia. Dilhara Fernando's selection in the team for the practice game is an indicator that Sri Lanka is having trouble with the availability of bowlers for the Tests. With Dhammika Prasad and Dushmantha Chameera unlikely to feature in the Test series due to injuries, and the unavailability of Shaminda Eranga due to his suspension for an illegal action, the selectors may consider the 36-year-old Dilhara for the Test series despite the senior cricketer not having played any Test matches in the last four years.
Vimukthi Perera and Nisala Tharaka, the pacers who are part of the squad for the practice game, could be considered for selection when the Lankan selectors pick the squad for the first Test. Vishwa Fernando and Asitha Fernando, who are part of the Sri Lanka A team in England, are also on the selectors' radar, according to an ESPNCricinfo report.
The three-day encounter at the P Sara Oval is the only practice game for Australia ahead of the Test series, that starts from July 26 in Pallekele. The second Test will be played in Galle from August 8 while the third and final game will be held at the SSC stadium in Colombo from August 13.
Sri Lankan XI: Milinda Siriwardana (capt), Madawa Warnapura, Osanda Fernando, Manoj Sarathchandra (wk), Asela Gunarathna, Shehan Jayasuriya, Dasun Shanaka, Chathuranga Silva, Nisala Tharaka, Vimukthi Perera, Dilhara Fernando
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