Sri Lanka Cricket has ruled Pathum Nissanka out of the two-Test series in Pakistan after he failed to recover sufficiently from a left hamstring injury. Left-hander Lahiru Udara, already in Pakistan with the ODI squad, replaces him before the first Test in Rawalpindi on 9 November.
Sri Lanka will start their World Test Championship series in Pakistan without one of their senior batters. Nissanka, who had been picked only on condition of medical clearance, never got the green light, and the selectors have moved quickly to fill the gap with a player who is already on the ground.
The fitness call
When the selection committee named its 15-member squad on 13 October, the release said Nissanka would travel with the team only if he was declared medically fit. Sri Lanka Cricket has now confirmed that he has not recovered sufficiently to feature in the Tests. Reports said the left hamstring problem had already kept him out of the T20I series against Pakistan and the ongoing ODI tri-series. It is not the first time injury has thinned Sri Lanka’s batting this season: Nissanka and Kusal Mendis were both ruled out when Sri Lanka named their squad for the August Test against India in Galle.
Udara steps in
Lahiru Udara is the replacement. The left-handed batter was not in the original squad, but he is already in Pakistan with the one-day group, which makes the switch simple. He has played five Tests and seven T20Is, and scored 188 against West Indies in Antigua in June. The squad is currently in Pakistan, where Sri Lanka recently chased down 430 against England in Rawalpindi.
Schedule and what lies ahead
Kusal Mendis captains the side. Sri Lanka play a three-day warm-up match at Islamabad Club from 4 to 6 November, then the first Test at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium from 9 to 13 November and the second at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore from 17 to 21 November. Both Tests count towards the ICC World Test Championship. The other 14 names in the squad are unchanged.
