Sri Lankan Stand-in skipper Chamara Kapugedera injured ahead of third ODI
What's the story?
Going into the third ODI against India, Sri Lanka's situation has worsened as stand-in captain Chamara Kapugedera has picked up an injury a day before the match.
The right-hander was batting in the nets when he was hit on his arm. He left the nets immediately and was rushed to a nearby hospital for a check-up.
The Sri Lankan team management is confident that the injury is not serious and the interim skipper is likely to lead the Lankans in the third ODI in Pallekale that starts in few hours' time.
In case you didn't know...
Sri Lankan ODI skipper Upul Tharanga was banned for two matches (third and fourth ODI) due to slow over-rate in the second ODI against India which they lost by 3 wickets after having India on the mats at 131-7 in a chase of 231.
In his absence, Kapugedera was handed the captaincy for both the matches and the selectors have recalled Dinesh Chandimal and Lahiru Thirimanne for the next two matches.
This is not the first time Tharanga was banned for the same reason this year as he was punished for the same offence during the ICC Champions Trophy and was forced to sit out of the games against India and Pakistan.
Details
The Sri Lankan team were already facing a few injury concerns. They are already without their star pacer Dhammika Prasad, batsman Kusal Perera and lost Asela Gunaratne and Shaminda Eranga on the first day of the first and second Test respectively.
Now, an injury to Kapugedera will give the Lankans a reason to worry about as they will not only miss Kapugedera as a captain but also as a batsman.
The 30-year-old middle-order batsman has scored 1592 runs in his ODI career at an average of 21.22 with the help of just eight fifties.
What's next?
Sri Lanka take on India in the third match of the five-match ODI series later today. A win for India will seal the series in favour of them and Kohli's men will go all out to get the match and the series in their kitty.
Sri Lanka, on the other hand, will look to give a tough fight and upset the Indians to make a statement.
Author's take
The current state of Sri Lankan cricket is worsening and these injuries are just adding salt to their wounds. The Lankan team management is, however, confident of the stand-in skipper being fit for the match. In such testing times, they need all the experience they can get