The Asia Cup 2025 is all set to kickstart from 9th September 2025 and will be taking place till 28th September 2025. The stakes and the excitement levels are quite high as all the teams would be looking to win the elusive tournament.
For all teams, the Asia Cup will serve as a preparatory tournament ahead of the highly-anticipated ICC T20 World Cup 2026. Sri Lanka need to punch above their weight in order to match up the prowess of India in the tournament.
Sri Lanka have won this competition, 6 times, and were the last winners in 2022 when they shocked everyone. Dasun Shanaka was their skipper back then and the remaining performances across other ICC events and Asia Cup, have been far from their best.
In this article, we take a look at the strongest playing XI of Sri Lanka in the upcoming Asia Cup 2025:
Openers- Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis
Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis will be responsible for getting Sri Lanka off to flying starts in the Powerplay. Both the batters have lots of talent and would be looking to capitalise on the upcoming tournament.
Nissanka had scored 120 runs in the recently-concluded BAN vs SL T20I series and had finished as the top run-getter in that series.
Top-Order- Dinesh Chandimal, Kusal Perera, Charith Asalanka
The likes of Dinesh Chandimal and Kusal Perera are vastly experienced and would be Sri Lanka’s best bets in the batting department. Both these batters can smear the bowlers all across the park and will be vital cogs in the wheels of Sri Lanka.
Charith Asalanka is the skipper of the team and he needs to bat with lots of responsibility.
Middle-Order- Kamindu Mendis, Dasun Shanaka
The middle-order of Sri Lanka is packed with Kamindu Mendis and Dasun Shanaka and both these power-hitters can hit the ball cleanly. Both Mendis and Shanaka can flex their dominant muscles and form the core of Sri Lanka’s powerful finishing pair.
Bowlers: Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Binura Fernando and Matheesha Pathirana
As the UAE conditions would be spin-friendly, the likes of Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana would be key players to watch out for. They can spin a web and bamboozle the opposition batters with their wily spin bowlung.
Binura Fernando and Matheesha Pathirana can wreak havoc with the white-cherry and would be key players in the ranks of Sri Lanka. Fernando had bagged 3 wickets in the BAN vs SL 2025 series and will be a perfect option in Asia Cup 2025.
Sri Lanka’s Strongest Playing XI in Asia Cup 2025
Kusal Mendis, Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Perera, Dinesh Chandimal, Charith Asalanka, Dasun Shanaka, Kamindu Mendis, Matheesha Pathirana, Maheesh Theekshana, Binura Fernando, Wanindu Hasaranga
