Dushmantha Chameera replaces injured Lahiru Kumara in Sri Lanka’s World Cup squad
Sri Lanka pacer Lahiru Kumara, who looked in good rhythm in Sri Lanka’s epic win against England in their most recent game, suffered a left thigh injury during training in Pune and has been ruled out of the tournament.
He will be replaced by the experienced Dushmantha Chameera, who was not fit enough when the selectors had initially named the squad for the marquee event. Sri Lanka have had a tumultuous ODI World Cup 2023 campaign thus far and cnconsistency and injuries have been two major problems for the former champions.
While Chameera is one of Sri Lanka’s finest pacers in the modern era, having experience of playing over 100 international games, Kumara’s injury is a major setback as the 26-year-old was in good touch. Notably, Kumara was awarded Player of the Match for his fiery spell of 3/35 in seven overs against England.
This is the third change that the ‘Lankan Lions’ have made to their 15-member squad since the commencement of World Cup. Matheesha Pathirana and regular captain Dasun Shanaka were ruled out earlier in the tournament. Their spots were taken by Chamika Karunaratne and Angelo Mathews, respectively.
Sri Lanka, Afghanistan look to stay afloat in CWC 2023
Sri Lanka and Afghanistan will face each other in an important ODI World Cup 2023 clash on Monday, October 30. The two teams are still in contention for a semi-final spot. Sri Lanka and Afghanistan have two wins each from the five games they have played. However, Kusal Mendis and Co. are at No. 5 on the points table owing to a superior net run rate. The Hashmatullah Shahidi-led side is at No. 7 on the points table and would desperately love a win in their upcoming match.
Both teams are coming off morale-boosting wins in their previous games. While Sri Lanka defeated England by eight wickets, Afghanistan got the better of Pakistan by the same margin. The team that loses the Sri Lanka-Afghanistan tie will suffer a huge jolt to their semi-final dreams. That is why the two Asian teams will surely come out all guns blazing on Monday.
