Dinesh Chandimal, the Sri Lanka Test captain, has been ruled out of the first Test against India starting in Galle on July 26 following a diagnosis of pneumonia.
Chandimal, who led Sri Lanka to a four-wicket victory against Zimbabwe earlier this week in his first Test as skipper, has been down with fever for the last couple of days, and was taken to the Nawaloka Hospital in Colombo on Friday (July 21) morning after failing to show any improvement, Sri Lanka Cricket confirmed in the afternoon.
He is also doubtful for the second Test, starting at the SSC ground on August 3.
In Chandimalâs absence, Rangana Herath, the veteran left-arm spinner, will lead the side once again even though Upul Tharanga had been nominated the vice-captain for the Zimbabwe Test. Herath had led Sri Lanka in Tests last year on the tour of Zimbabwe, as well as this year when Bangladesh toured Sri Lanka.
Chandimal had been pencilled in to address a joint press conference alongside Virat Kohli and the coaching staff of the two teams on Thursday evening, but had to give it a miss following instructions from Asanka Gurusinha, the teamâs cricket manager who had then insisted that Chandimal should be fine in a day or two.
In his absence, Tharanga stepped in as the player representative from the Sri Lankan camp.
âChandimal is down with the flu,â Gurusinha had said. âHe was going to come today but we instructed him not to. A couple of days, and he will be fine, he will be up and running.â
Gurusinha had also revealed that Chandimal had been cleared of dengue. âIt is not dengue, he was actually tested this morning, so all clear on that front,â said Gurusinha, a member of the 1996 World Cup-winning side. âItâs just a fever that is going around right now.â
Chandimal, 27, has 2610 runs from 37 Tests at 42.09, and made a memorable unbeaten 162 in the first Test in Galle on Indiaâs last tour of 2015, an effort that helped Sri Lanka overturn a 192-run first-innings deficit and complete a remarkable 63-run victory.
Claiming that it is more than enough for a certain group to rule the country…
The Election Commission announced the maximum expenditure limits allowed for candidates, parties, independent groups and…
While pointing out how Ministers rob government assets, former President Maithripala Sirisena noted that Ministers…
The captain involved in a controversial cockpit lockout incident aboard SriLankan Airlines flight UL607 from…
There should be experienced people in Parliament to resolve the economic crisis, former President Ranil…
Meanwhile, the report also states that Sri Lanka is expected to receive 1.69 billion US…