Kusal Mendis will maintain wickets for Sri Lanka, with Sadeera Samarawickrama missing out.
Bangladesh decided to bowl against Sri Lanka.
Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bat first against Sri Lanka in the first Test at Sylhet.
Najmul Hossain Shanto said he hoped for early inroads since he thought the wetness in the pitch from earlier in the day would help seam and swing bowlers. This might especially benefit express pacer Nahid Rana, whom Shanto characterized as “really exciting” ahead of his international debut.
Lankan captain Dhananjaya de Silva said that they would have preferred to bowl first, considering they had three seamers in their team. This means the visitors will only have one frontline spinner, Prabath Jayasuriya, although Dhananjaya can give an off-break alternative, while the selection of ambidextrous allrounder Kamindu Mendis ahead of Sadeera Samarawickrama provides another part-time spin bowling option.
In terms of weather, it was a rainy morning in Sylhet, but the sun has now emerged. There is also some grass on the pitch, which means that the seamers will have some movement early on, but the ball will also come to the bat. So ideal for batting in the opening several days, but with some fissures in the pitch, spinners may enter the game as the Test progresses.
Bangladesh XI: 1 Mahmudul Hasan Joy; 2 Zakir Hasan; 3 Najmul Hossain Shanto (captain); 4 Mominul Haque; 5 Shahadat Hossain. 6. Litton Das (week), 7. Mehidy Hasan Miraz. 8 Taijul Islam, 9 Khaled Ahmed, 10 Nahid Rana, and 11 Shoriful Islam
Sri Lanka XI: 1 Nishan Madushka; 2 Dimuth Karunaratne; 3 Kusal Mendis (wk); 4 Angelo Mathews; 5 Dinesh Chandimal. 6 Dhananjaya de Silva (captain), 7 Kamindu Mendis. 8 Prabath Jayasuriya, 9 Vishwa Fernando, 10 Kasun Rajitha, and 11 Lahiru Kumara
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