SL vs IND: Charith Asalanka amongst 3 players likely to miss 2nd T20I

The Sri Lankan team hasn’t had a very good time on the ground lately. After having a disappointing series against England, they lost the ODIs to India but were able to fetch a win in the last game. However, in the T20Is, they couldn’t hold their fort as India took a 1-0 lead. The problems do not seem to end for them as the team now has to deal with some injury blows as well.

Three players of the Sri Lankan side are expected to miss the second T20I against India owing to injuries. Bhanuka Rajapaksa is ruled out of the whole series after he suffered a figure injury during his belligerent innings of 65 in the third ODI that enabled the hosts to secure a win. He wasn’t able to take the charge of the field in the first T20I as according to the scans his finger was severely injured.

Pathum Nissanka is the other player who will be unavailable the T20I on Tuesday after getting hit in the arm amidst a net session on Sunday. The results of his scans are awaited. Charith Asalanka also suffered a hamstring injury on Sunday and his inclusion for the next game is doubtful. He has stood out for the team so far by being the second-highest run-scorer in the ODIs. In the first T20I as well, Asalanka looked impressive and scored 44 from 26 balls.

Testing times for Sri Lanka

These injuries are a big setback for Sri Lanka who are already struggling to get back to winning ways. The board might get in players from the backup squad which was kept ready and under the Covid-19 protocols. The team line-up was already affected by the contract issues and the injury concerns have further added to their problems.

It rings true that Sri Lanka is amidst difficult times and they need to right the wrongs at their earliest to level the T20I series against India. In the first T20I, the team was able to restrict the visitors at a decent score but they couldn’t shift their fortunes with the bat as wickets fell frequently at the end.