India vs Sri Lanka, 2017: Dhananjaya de Silva ruled out of 1st ODI
The 26-year-old scored a match-saving century during the third Test at the Feroz Shah Kotla.
What's the story?
Sri Lanka's preparation for the three-match ODI series against India which commences at Dharamsala on Sunday were dealt a big blow after Dhananjaya de Silva was ruled out of the first ODI.
The 26-year-old had helped the visitors avoid defeat in the third Test between the two sides at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium in New Delhi with a fighting century, but it came at a cost for the Sri Lankan side, as De Silva was forced to retire hurt shortly before tea on Day 5 with a thigh injury.
It has now been confirmed that De Silva will not be available for selection for the first ODI which will be played tomorrow. The exact reason and the extent of the injury are yet to be known.
In case you didn't know...
Replacing the out-of-form Lahiru Thirimanne, De Silva scored an undefeated 119 before retiring hurt just before tea on the final day with a thigh injury.
Apart from helping Sri Lanka restrict the series loss to a respectable 1-0 in the Test leg after being widely tipped to be whitewashed by an in-form Indian side, De Silva's knock proved to be a historic one as it was the highest fourth-innings score by a visiting batsman in India.
The details
De Silva has been a consistent performer for Sri Lanka since making his Test debut in 2016, scoring 846 runs, among them three centuries, from 11 matches.
His performances in the 50-over format have paled in comparison, however, as he has scored just 335 runs from 17 ODIs at an average of just under 24.
However, the Sri Lankan selectors backed the right-handed batsman, perhaps hoping that the confidence earned by the match-saving century at the Feroz Shah Kotla could have helped the 26-year-old kick-start his ODI career.
Sri Lanka will be led by all-rounder Thisara Perera for the ODI series; Perera will be the 7th skipper in the 50-over format in 2017 for a Sri Lankan side desperate to overturn a poor string of results.
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What's next?
With the upcoming tour to South Africa in mind, Indian skipper Virat Kohli has been rested for the 3-match ODI series as well as the three-match T20 series against Sri Lanka.
Dharamsala will host the 1st ODI while the other two matches will be played at Mohali and Vishakapatnam respectively.
Cuttack, Indore, and Mumbai will be hosting the three T20Is to follow the ODI series.
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Author's take
Sri Lanka has endured a difficult time of late in international cricket, but gave a good account of themselves in the three-match Test series against an in-form Indian side, as they put up fighting displays at Kolkata and New Delhi to avoid defeats.
At the heart of the visitors' brave effort in the Indian capital city was their batting line-up, with Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, and Dhananjaya de Silva all scoring centuries.
With Chandimal not being considered for selection in the 50-over format, De Silva's injury will be a big blow for Sri Lanka and they will be hoping that he is match-fit sooner rather than later.