Asela Gunaratne ruled out of the Test series against India

Sri Lanka suffered a huge blow when Asela Gunaratne was ruled out of the ongoing Test match on the first day itself. Gunaratne sustained the injury when he attempted to catch an edge off Shikhar Dhawan’s bat. The southpaw was just on 31 when he was dropped by Gunaratne and went on to complete a glorious hundred on his return to the Test side.

All-rounder set to miss Test and ODI series

According to Cricbuzz, Gunaratne has now been ruled out of the Test series as well as ODI series. This comes as a big blow to the home side as the all-rounder is a utility cricketer who could perform the dual role of batting and bowling. Sri Lanka are further depleted after Chandimal was ruled out of the first Test due to an injury.

“Asela will be taken for surgery soon. After this kind of injury, a player requires about six weeks to recover and play again. He is definitely out of the Test and ODIs. Maybe he stands a chance for the T20 International,” de Silva revealed to Cricbuzz.

Gunaratne was in great nick

Asela Gunaratne was in fine form and will be missed during the entire series. Just a week ago, he was the chief architect of Sri Lanka’s memorable win against Zimbabwe in Colombo. He remained unbeaten on 80 as Sri Lanka recorded the highest chase in Test cricket in Asia. The 31-year old was adjudged the Man of the Match for his outstanding performance.

As things stand in the first Test, Sri Lanka are handicapped for they will have just 10 players to play with for the remainder of the Test at Galle. India had a perfect start to the day with Dhawan and Pujara scoring dominating hundreds. It will take a miracle for the home side to stage a comeback in this Test.

Though it’s still early days in Gunaratne’s Test career, He averages 56.87 after scoring 455 runs in 5 Tests. His highest score in the format is 116. In the ODIs, the all-rounder averages 36.30 with the bat in 21 ODIS. With his off-spinners, Gunaratne has taken 18 wickets at 31.05 and an economy rate of under 5.