ICC World Cup 2015: Key Players from Sri Lanka

The team, currently ranked fourth in the ODIs, will be led by Angelo Mathews this year. The team boasts immense World Cup experience in Kumar Sangakkara, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Mahela Jayawardene - who were pivotal in Lanka's journey to the World Cup final in 2011.

Here's a look at the key players from Sri Lanka in the World Cup:

Tillakaratne Dilshan

Playing role: All-rounder

The 38-year-old batting maestro is one of the most innovative batsmen of the modern game for his different strokeplay. He is an aggressive right-hand batsman who invented the scoop, known as a dilscoop, for the 2009 ICC World T20 and confused the bowlers and experts alike.

Dilshan boasts relentless aggression, strong wrists and natural timing which makes practically makes him an absolute nightmare for the opposition. He was a run-machine in the 2011 World Cup and even though Sri Lanka lost the title to India in the final, Dilshan finished the tournament as the leading run-scorer with 500 runs comprised of two fifties and two hundreds in nine ODI innings.

He is the second Sri Lankan and fifth overall to achieve hundreds in all forms of the game. Apart from his batting heroics, Dilshan is more than just a part-time off-spinner who has been handy in breaking crucial partnerships.

Lasith Malinga

Playing role: Medium-fast bowler

The 31-year-old cricketer is one of the most consistent and economical bowlers in limited overs cricket. His distinctive and explosive round-arm action, which generates genuine pace, can disconcert batsmen who struggle to pick up the ball's trajectory.

Known for his ability to take consecutive wickets, Malinga is the only bowler in the world to have two World Cup hat-tricks, the only bowler to have taken three hat-tricks in ODIs and he is also the only player to have taken four wickets in four consecutive balls in any form of international cricket. His ODI and T20 bowling average and economy rate are amongst the best in the game.

Malinga's ability to bowl yorkers and slower bowls will undoubtedly help Sri Lanka to restrict scoring in the death overs of the game. With 271 wickets at 27.21 and an economy rate of 5.21 in 177 ODIs, Malinga is clearly the ace in the pack for the Lankans in the upcoming World Cup.

Thisara Perera

Playing role: All-rounder

The 25-year-old Colombo player is an aggressive left-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-fast bowler which makes him an ideal attacking all-rounder. Perera is fast establishing himself as one of Sri Lanka's key 'impact' players, capable of clearing the ropes and breaking partnerships with his nippy seam bowling.

During an ODI series in 2012, Perera became first ever person to take 6 wickets against Pakistan in an One-Day International - also his career best. In the 4th ODI of the same series, Perera became the fourth Sri Lankan bowler to take a hat-trick in ODIs. His ability to clear the fence with ease was at full display in 2013 when he slammed South Africa's Robin Peterson for 35 runs in a single over(6,6,6,4,Wd,6,6). Peterson's over is the second most expensive in ODI history.

Perera also slammed a 23-ball fifty against England in 2014 which is the second fastest half-century by a Sri Lankan in ODIs. With over 1,000 runs and 112 wickets in ODIs, Perera is one of the highly influential players in the Sri Lankan squad.

Mahela Jayawardene

Playing role: Batsman

Mahela Jayawardene has almost all the records to his name except for the World Cup. In 2011 final against India at Wankhede, Jayawardene scored a match-saving century to help Sri Lanka put up a competitive total on the board. This could be Jayawardene's last World Cup outing and the veteran himself would also like to bow out on a high.

Being a classy and technically correct batsman there is nothing brash in his batting even in the shorter formats. He is strong on the front foot, playing off his legs and more importantly has a huge appetite for runs.

Kumar Sangakkara

Playing role: Wicket-keeper batsman

Left-handed batsmen have always been elegant while batting and Kumar Sangakkara was no different. Sangakkara broke into the side at the age of 22 and since then he hasn't looked back. Presently on his last leg of an illustrious career and like Jayawardene he too will be representing Sri Lanka in his final World Cup.

Sangakkara is a natural striker of the cricket ball and can play all round the wicket with the pull and hook coming naturally to him. His glovework was rusty when he started but improved considerably and so also his harmless sledges behind the stumps. On Sri Lankan wickets he is a run-machine and his partnership of 624 runs with Jayawardena against South Africa is a major milestone in his career. Sangakkara has 20 centuries, 93 fifties at an average of 40.65 from 396 ODIs.

Squad: Angelo Mathews(c), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara(wk), Mahela Jayawardene, Lahiru Thirimanne, Dinesh Chandimal, Dimuth Karunaratne, Jeevan Mendis, Thisara Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Lasith Malinga, Dhammika Prasad, Nuwan Kulasekara, Rangana Herath, Sachithra Senanayake