Pectoral muscle pain may put Chameera out of qualifiers
Sri Lanka’s World Cup qualifying campaign is facing the prospect of a major setback with spearhead paceman Dushmantha Chameera in doubt for the tournament because of swelling and pain in his right pectoral muscle.Although he traveled with the team to Zimbabwe, Chameera didn’t feature in any of the four games Sri Lanka has played so far–two warm-ups and two tournament matches–due to the pain and will not be available for today’s clash against Ireland. During this period, he has been through extensive rehabilitation and treatment but the pain continues to trouble the seamer.
“We are managing him very carefully at the moment,” said Chief Selector Pramodya Wickremasinghe. “We need him for the Super Six stage of the tournament more than the first round. However, we will make a call within the next two days on whether to retain him in the squad or replace him.”
An MRI scan performed on Thursday cleared doubts of any tear in the muscle and the team physiotherapist is working hard to get him fit by the second round. Failing this, the selectors will bring left-arm seamer Dilshan Madushanka into the squad. Madushanka, Dunith Wellalage, and Sahan Arachchige were flown to Zimbabwe this week to keep them ready for any eventuality caused by injury.
Chameera is a vital cog in the
Sri Lankan bowling armoury. Seven months after his ankle surgery, he played the last two matches of the three-match ODI series against Afghanistan early this month. He returned figures of 2/18 and 4/63, contributing to Sri Lanka’s 2-1 series win.
However, trouble started during the Afghan series where he reported pectoral pain after the first match played on June 4 in Hambantota. As its severity was low, he played the third and final game on June 7 with pain. Not only did he bowl exceptionally well but also completed the full 10 overs.
As he has proved he could play with pain, he was included in the World Cup qualifiers, hoping the 31-year-old would recover in time for the tournament. However, despite undergoing extensive rehabilitation and treatment, the pain has not yet settled.
“He should be fine in two to three days,” the Chief Selector confirmed.
“He does fitness training and bowling run-ups and even bowled five overs during practice with that pain. Hopefully, we will have his services in the second round.”
Sri Lankans have been ruthless so far in the qualifiers and didn’t miss Chameera much in the two games. While seamer Lahiru Kumara has been an exception with the ball,
Sri Lanka has ridden on the back of spinner Wanindu Hasaranga. Against UAE, he returned figures of 6/24 and 5/13 against Oman to help Sri Lanka register comfortable victories in their first two games.
With Chameera ruled out from the next game as well, Sri Lanka will play the same combination against Ireland today in their third match. Ireland is yet to put points on the board, having lost both their games against Oman and Scotland. With two wins,
Sri Lanka has put one foot in the Super Six round and a win against Ireland will help them qualify as the top-ranked team to the next round.
Sri Lanka, having been forced to play a qualifying round, are eyeing one of the two remaining spots for cricket’s biggest tournament–the ICC Cricket World Cup to be played in India in October.