Sri Lanka has suffered a huge blow as their batter Pathum Nissanka has been reportedly ruled out due to a back injury from the second Test match, which will be played in Bengaluru.
This is a big blow as Pathum Nissanka was one of the few positives for the tourists in the first Test match in Mohali as he had scored a fighting fifty in the first innings.
The right-hander had scored 61 runs from 133 balls in the first innings. However, Nissanka has aggravated his former back injury while training for the second Test match and he is now expected to miss the second game.
A Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) official confirmed the development to CricWire, saying: “Pathum has some back pain from one of his previous injuries, we will monitor his situation but he is unlikely to play.”
Nissanka has been in good form and he had scored 76 runs in three T20I matches against India before the Test series.
Meanwhile, either former Sri Lanka Dinesh Chandimal or Kusal Mendis are expected to replace Pathum Nissanka in the final XI. Kusal Mendis might be the favorite to take the place in the middle-order as he has scored 3022 runs, including seven centuries and 11 fifties, at an average of 34.74.
If Mendis plays, it will be his first game on Indian soil across all formats despite making his international debut back in 2015.
The second Test match will be played in Bengaluru and it will be a pink-ball affair. Furthermore, 100% capacity crowd is allowed in the stadium.
Sri Lanka Test Squad: Dimuth Karunaratne – Captain, Pathum Nissanka, Lahiru Thirimanne, Dhananjaya de Silva – Vice-Captain, Kusal Mendis – subject to fitness, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Charith Asalanka, Niroshan Dickwella, Chamika Karunaratne, Ramesh Mendis – will not take part due to an injury, Lahiru Kumara, Suranga Lakmal, Dushmantha Chameera, Vishwa Fernando, Jeffrey Vandersay, Praveen Jayawickrema, and Lasith Embuldeniya.
