COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Lasith Embuldeniya will return after more than two years away from test cricket after being selected in Sri Lanka's squad to play two test matches in South Africa starting later this month.
The 17-member squad named Tuesday is led by Dhananjaya de Silva and includes nine batters, three specialist spinners and five pace bowlers.
The last of Embuldeniya's 17 test caps for Sri Lanka came in June 2022 against Australia.
He is the second left-arm spinner in the squad along with Prabath Jayasuriya, who took 18 wickets in Sri Lanka's 2-0 series win against New Zealand in September.
Opening batter Oshada Fernando also returns after nearly a year out of the squad, while off spinner Ramesh Mendis has not been named.
The first test starts in Durban on Nov. 27. with the second test at Port Elizabeth from Dec. 5.
Sri Lanka squad: Dhananjaya de Silva (captain), Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Kusal Mendis, Kamindu Mendis, Oshada Fernando, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Prabath Jayasuriya, Nishan Peiris, Lasith Embuldeniya, Milan Rathnayake, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Kasun Rajitha.
AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
FILE -Sri Lanka's Prabath Jayasuriya acknowledges after taking six New Zealand wickets during the day three of the second test cricket match between Sri Lanka and New Zealand in Galle , Sri Lanka, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena, File)
FILE -Sri Lanka's Lasith Embuldeniya reacts after India's Ravichandran Ashwin hit a boundary on his delivery during the second day of the second cricket test match between India and Sri Lanka in Bengaluru, India, March 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi, File)
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — The opposition leader in Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland won last week’s election, the electoral commission said Tuesday.
Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi of the main opposition Waddani Party received more than 50% of the votes cast.
President Muse Bihi Abdi of the ruling Kulmiye Party, who was seeking a second term after seven years in office, came second with just over 30%.
The election was delayed twice since 2022 for a lack of funding and other reasons.
Somaliland, which declared independence from Somalia in 1991 amid a descent into conflict, has sustained its own government, currency and security structures despite lacking international recognition. Over the years, the region has built a stable political environment in sharp contrast to Somalia’s security struggles.
Somaliland’s latest agreement with neighboring Ethiopia granting it access to the Indian Ocean in exchange for recognition has caused political tension with Somalia, which accuses Ethiopia of undermining its territorial integrity.
People display the Somaliland flag as they wait to cast their vote during the 2024 Somaliland presidential election at a polling station in Hargeisa, Somaliland, Wednesday, Nov. 13,2024. (AP Photo/Abdirahman Aleeli)
A woman kiss the Somaliland flag as she waits to cast her vote during the 2024 Somaliland presidential election at a polling station in Hargeisa, Somaliland, Wednesday, Nov. 13,2024. (AP Photo/Abdirahman Aleeli)
A woman displays the Somaliland flag as people queue to cast their votes during the 2024 Somaliland presidential election at a polling station in Hargeisa, Somaliland, Wednesday, Nov. 13,2024. (AP Photo/Abdirahman Aleeli)
Presidential candidate Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, center, casts his vote inside a polling station during the presidential election in Hargeisa, Somaliland, Wednesday, Nov. 13,2024. (AP Photo/Abdirahman Aleeli)
