T20 World Cup 2022: Dushmantha Chameera ruled out of Sri Lanka's final Group A match; doubtful for remaining games
Sri Lankan fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera will miss their final Group A game against the Netherlands, a match they must win to progress to the Super 12 stage of the T20 World Cup. The right-arm speedster will miss the fixture due to a calf injury.
Chameera, who starred with three wickets in Sri Lanka's 79-run win over UAE on Tuesday, couldn't complete the final ball of his spell. The 30-year-old walked off the field after pulling up with a calf injury.
According to ESPNCricinfo, Arjun de Silva, who oversees the team's medical operations, confirmed that the speedster will not play the next game. He also remains in doubt for the rest of the tournament.
T20I wickets!!
5️⃣0️⃣ T20I wickets!!
Dushmantha Chameera becomes the fifth Sri Lankan to reach the milestone! 👏👏
#RoaringForGlory https://t.co/OLcYzNEs4k
The report also adds that there remain concerns over Danushka Gunathilaka and Pramod Madushan as both have sustained hamstring injuries.
Gunathilaka missed the game against the UAE on Tuesday, while Madushan returned up figures of 3-0-14-1.
"I think we adjusted pretty well today" - Sri Lanka head coach
Sri Lanka head coach Chris Silverwood was pleased with the performance, lauding them for gaging and adjusting well to the conditions. As quoted by ESPNCricinfo, Silverwood said:
"I think we adjusted pretty well today. In the first game we didn't read the conditions particularly well, and we certainly didn't grasp them. We're not hiding from that.
"That's something that we spoke about in the debrief quite honestly. They've faced facts and come out today, and applied themselves much better. The track was a little bit slow."
He added:
"We saw that if the bowlers bang it in hard, it's very difficult to get them away. So we have to be patient, we have to build innings, and for the majority of today we did that."
A dominating win! Sri Lanka beat UAE by 79 runs. 👊
#SLvUAE #RoaringForGlory #T20WorldCup https://t.co/yF5GsKOfuQ
The match was a must-win for Sri Lanka, given their 55-run defeat to Namibia in their first game. The 2014 T20 champions will be wary of any further lapses in the competition moving forward.