Pathum Nissanka may miss Bangladesh series
Top-order batsman Pathum Nissanka may miss Sri Lanka’s home series against Bangladesh starting April 21 due to injury.
Nissanka had suffered a thigh strain during his half century (51) in the first inning of the second Test which concluded on April 2 at the Sir Vivian Richard Stadium in Antigua.
His injury is understood to be not as serious as that of Lasith Embuldeniya, who injured his thigh while fielding during the fourth day of the second Test match.
Nissanka became the fourth Sri Lankan to hit a century on debut when he scored a match saving knock of 103 in the second inning of the first Test and followed it up with a half century in the second Test.
“We have few injury concerns,” said Pramodya Wickremasinghe, the Chairman of Cricket Selectors.
“(Lasith) Embuldeniya is injured so as Pathum (Nissanka). So we are awaiting a report from the physio to see how serious the injuries are.”
Embuldeniya hurt himself while fielding near the boundary line after opener John Campbell had flicked Vishwa Fernando for a couple of runs during the West Indies second inning. He put in the slide but couldn’t get up immediately as he was in some pain and after treatment from the Sri Lankan physiotherapist he was stretched off the field.
Another MRI scan will be done on Monday to determine the state of Embuldeniya’s injury.
Meanwhile, Angelo Mathews, who missed the ODI and Test series in West Indies owing to a personal matter, has declared his availability for the two-match series against Bangladesh. His selection to the squad, however will be after accessing his match fitness and readiness as he was out of action for a while. After missing the South African series, Mathews scored a century and a half century in the two match Test series against England. He was part of the Sri Lankan team for the series in West Indies but returned home soon after the T20 series.
“We will finalise the team on Monday,” said Wickremasinghe.
The first match will be played from April 21-25 while the second match is scheduled to be played from April 29 to May 3. Both matches will be played at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.