Asela Gunaratne ruled out of the Pakistan series due to inury

Asela Gunaratne is unlikely to recover from injury and travel with the Sri Lankan squad to UAE to play against Pakistan. Gunaratne has to go for a surgery after injuring his broken thumb on the opening day of the 1st Test match against Sri Lanka in Galle. The all-rounder dived to his left at second slip to try and catch opener Shikhar Dhawan but ended up breaking his thumb at three places.

Sri Lanka went on to lose the Test series by a whitewash and ended up losing the ODI series 5-0 to India. Gunaratne has played 6 Test matches for Sri Lanka and scored 455 runs at an average of 56.87. He has also played 21 ODIs, scoring 472 runs at an average of 36.30.

Kusal Perera might be the replacement

Skipper Upul Tharanga had recent;y said that Kusal Perera might replace the injured player, but he too isn’t ready for Test matches.  Since India arrived on the islands, Sri Lanka lost Gunaratne, Nuwan Pradeep (grade 1 hamstring tear) and most vital Rangana Herath (back spasms) during the Test series. Dinesh Chandimal, their Test skipper, missed the opening game due to illness.  It has been reported that veteran spinner Herath should be fit for the Pakistan series.

Dhammika Prasad fit again

Fast bowler Dhammika Prasad, who suffered a shoulder injury in England, is likely to make it to the squad. “I am fully ready now,” he said during practice in Colombo. “I will make my comeback against Pakistan.” Skipper Tharanga opposed the hefty fine he had to face for the slow over rates. “Not only the bowlers, the entire team is responsible,” said Tharanga, when asked if the skipper should not be the only one who cops the blame for a slow over-rate offence. “Bowlers need to quicken things up and the fielders need to back them up. I think the entire team should come under the spotlight, not just the captain,” he added.