Jayasuriya picked in Sri Lanka squad for Asia Cup

Sanath Jayasuriya was on Friday named in the Sri Lanka squad for next month's Asia Cup in Pakistan after having been dropped for the one-dayers in the West Indies last month.

The left-handed batsman, who has retired from Tests, was originally not considered for selection but picked later at the behest of the country's sports minister Gamini Lokuge.

"I had a meeting with cricket selectors this morning and one of the things we discussed was to recall Sanath Jayasuriya in to the team," Lokuge told AFP.

Jayasuriya, 38, had cracked a fine century in a domestic Indian Twenty20 tournament in Mumbai on Wednesday.

Jayasuriya, who has made 12,310 runs from 411 one-day internationals, made it into the side at the expense of opener Upul Tharanga.