CWC 2023: Sri Lanka in-form pacer Lahiru Kumara ruled out due to thigh injury; replacement named

Sri Lanka will next face Afghanistan in Pune.

The Sri Lankan team, which was seeing a bit of resurgence in the ongoing ICC World Cup 2023, was dealt a huge blow as they lost the services of pacer Lahiru Kumara for the rest of the tournament.

Kumara was the star of Sri Lanka’s win over England in Bengaluru on Thursday. He was the player of the match for his three wickets which included the names of Jos Buttler, Liam Livingstone, and Ben Stokes. He picked five wickets in 4 appearances for Sri Lanka in CWC 2023.

Lahiru Kumara hurt his left thigh during training in Pune ahead of Sri Lanka's crucial clash against Afghanistan at MCA International Stadium on Monday and will play no further part in the tournament.

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In his place, Sri Lanka got approval from the Event Technical Committee to include Dushmantha Chameera in the squad as an injury replacement. The experienced right-armer could come into contention to replace Kumara for that pivotal match against Afghanistan.

Chameera's addition means Sri Lanka has now added a total of three members to their 15-player squad since the start of the tournament, with Chamika Karunaratne and Angelo Mathews already coming in for Dasun Shanaka and Matheesha Pathirana.

Sri Lanka currently has two wins from five appearances at the World Cup and sits in fifth place on the standings with four group matches remaining.

Sri Lanka squad:

Kusal Mendis (C-WK), Kusal Perera, Pathum Nissanka, Dushmantha Chameera, Dimuth Karunaratne, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage, Kasun Rajitha, Angelo Mathews, Dilshan Madushanka, Dushan Hemantha, Chamika Karunaratne.

(ICC inputs)