The Sri Lankan cricket team suffered a massive blow on Saturday as their skipper Dasun Shanaka has been ruled out of the ICC World Cup 2023 following a thigh injury he sustained during his side’s match against Pakistan in Hyderabad on October 10.
Chamika Karunaratne, who was included in the mega event’s squad as a travelling reserve, is approved as the 32-year-old’s replacement by the Event Technical Committee of the World Cup.
Karunaratne, who represented Sri Lanka in 23 ODIs, will take the place of Shanaka, as the all-rounder’s injury will need three weeks to recover from a thigh injury.
Kusal Mendis is likely to replace Shanaka as the team’s captain.
Sri Lanka cannot catch a break as on Friday (October 13), their pacer Matheesha Pathirana was ruled out for the next two games.
Pathirana, 20, sustained a shoulder injury recently and after undergoing scans, the report rang serious balls for the Islanders as the pacer will now be sidelined for the next two World Cup games, which are against Australia on October 16 in Lucknow and then the Netherlands on October 21 at the same venue.
It is worth mentioning that Sri Lanka are playing without two main bowlers — Dushmanta Chameera, and all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga — and are struggling with the ball as they have conceded a total of 773 runs in the last two matches against South Africa and Pakistan.
With two out of two losses and their skipper no longer playing, the Islanders are under serious scrutiny and their hopes of proceeding to the event’s semi-final could be crushed soon if they don’t bounce back.
However, despite two losses, the Islanders showed great intent and played with a positive mindset and it would not come as a surprise if they beat the already-struggling Australia side and kickstart their comeback in the mega event.
