Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal won the toss and opted to bat in the first Test against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.
The Islanders entered the Test with three spinners in Rangana Herath, Lakshan Sandakan and Dilruwan Perera although the pitch at Sheikh Zayed Stadium looked greenish in appearance.
Pakistan included only one frontline spinner in Yasir Shah, and handed a Test debut to 28-year-old batsman Haris Sohail who is also a part-time left-arm spinner.
The Test is Pakistan’s first without ace batsman Younis Khan and their most successful Test skipper, Misbah-ul-Haq, who retired in May this year.
English umpire Ian Gould became an early morning casualty as the 60-year-old suffered an upset stomach and was replaced by his countryman Richard Kettleborough, originally the television umpire.
Pakistan’s Ahsan Raza is now the television umpire and can be replaced by Gould in the TV room if he recovers by Friday morning.
