Sri Lanka's Predicted XI vs Bangladesh, ICC World Cup 2023: Will Sri Lanka Make Any Changes?

The 1996 World Cup champions Sri Lanka are on the brink of exiting the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 and in pursuit of keeping their chances faintly alive, they take on Bangladesh in match No. 38 of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 on Monday, November 6. After beginning the tournament with three defeats on the trot, including a forgettable bowling performance against Pakistan where they failed to defend a 345-run target, Sri Lanka opened their account in the ongoing edition against the Netherlands.

To add to their confidence, they went on to beat England with a comprehensive all-round performance. After bowling out the defending champions for only 156 runs, the Lankan batters chased the total in 25.4 overs to win by eight wickets. Lahiru Kumara (3/35 in seven overs) was named Player of the match.

However, that good work went in vain as they faced a defeat against Afghanistan, denting their ambitions of making it to the semi-finals. Sri Lanka could only manage 241 runs batting first and in response, Afghanistan completed the run chase in 45.2 overs.

To worsen their misery, they suffered a 302-run defeat against India in their previous match, the second biggest defeat in World Cup history. India mounted a huge 357/8 batting first and the Lankans were bowled out for 55 runs in 19.4 overs. Mohammad Shami's five-fer and Mohammed Siraj's 3/16 were the catalysts in Sri Lanka's downfall.

Bangladesh, on the other hand, are already out of the tournament with six defeats in seven matches. Their only remaining aim is to finish the campaign on a high and avoid a last-position finish.

Here's how the Lankan side might line up for this crucial fixture.

Openers: Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne

Pathum Nissanka and Dimuth Karunaratne will