Hasaranga skips IPL to nurse troubled heel
Sri Lanka’s spinning all-rounder and T20 skipper Wanindu Hasaranga will miss the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) entirety due to an injury in the left heel, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) confirmed yesterday.Hasaranga was brought for INR 1.5 crore by Sunrises Hyderabad for the 2024 season, much lower than what he fetched at the 2022 auction where Royal Challengers Bangalore paid INR 10.75 crore to get the Sri Lankan star’s services.
“He is not taking part in the IPL as he needs to do some rehabilitation after meeting the podiatrist,” confirmed SLC CEO Ashley de Silva.
According to de Silva, Hasaranga will travel to Dubai to meet with a podiatrist as recommended by SLC’s physiotherapy department to get his expert advice on managing a troubled heel.
“There’s a swelling in the heel and he has been playing with injections. So he has decided to get this issue sorted out before the World Cup and informed us of his decision to skip the IPL this year,” de Silva added.
Hasaranga is a vital cog in Sri Lanka’s T20 team, not primarily because he is the captain of the side but he is being a proven match winner be it with the ball, his main job, or with the bat.
Hasaranga’s presence on the field is of paramount importance to Sri Lanka’s T20 squad, not merely due to his captaincy role but also because of his proven ability to single-handedly turn matches in his team’s favour, whether through his exploits with the ball, which remains his primary responsibility, or with the bat lower down the order.
The talented all-rounder had to sit out last year’s 50-over World Cup in India due to injury, a setback that highlighted his indispensability to the Sri Lankan setup. At 26 years of age, Hasaranga has already established himself as a pivotal figure in Sri Lanka’s white-ball plans, and his absence from the IPL is undoubtedly a significant blow for the Sunrisers Hyderabad franchise.
Hasaranga narrowly avoided sanctions from the International Cricket Council (ICC) for the upcoming T20 World Cup after being included in Sri Lanka’s Test squad for the ongoing series against Bangladesh. This strategic move allowed him to serve a suspension imposed by the ICC without impacting his availability for the marquee T20 event in June.
The ICC had initially suspended Hasaranga for two Tests, four ODIs, or four T20Is, whichever came first, as a disciplinary measure. However, his surprise inclusion in the Test side against Bangladesh ensured that he would not miss any matches at the T20 World Cup, where he is slated to lead Sri Lanka’s campaign. The SLC, though, has vehemently denied accusations that Hasaranga’s Test selection was a calculated ploy to circumvent the ban.