Sri Lanka's Asela Gunaratne ruled out of Nidahas Trophy 2018
What's the story?
Sri Lanka have suffered another setback ahead of the Nidahas Trophy as all-rounder Asela Gunaratne has been ruled out of the tournament with a rotator cuff injury. The 32-year-old sustained his injury during a training session during the tour of Bangladesh but he played all of the team's matches in the tri-series involving Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.
Sri Lanka won the tri-series following which Gunaratne even played a first-class match for Sri Lanka Army but Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) confirmed that the injury was worse than initially anticipated and he will take no part in the T20I tri-series that will involve India and Bangladesh.
In case you didn't know...
To commemorate the 70th anniversary of Sri Lanka's independence, the country will host a T20I tri-series involving India and Bangladesh. The tournament begins on March 6 and ends on 18 March and all games will be played at Colombo.
The heart of the matter
SLC confirmed that the all-rounder, who has represented his country across all three formats since his debut in February 2016 against India, will undergo rehabilitation at the High-Performance Center.
“The status of his injury is diagnosed as a Grade II rotator cuff strain with a contusion,” SLC added.
What's next?
Sri Lanka are yet to announce the squad for the Nidahas Trophy, which begins in less than two weeks.
Author's take
Sri Lanka have had a lot of injury concerns in the recent past and Gunaratne has been one player who has been struggling with injuries of late. While he will be a huge loss for the hosts, they will be hoping that the team can rally around the several injury issues that have recently plagued them and come out on top in the tri-series against India and Bangladesh.