The Sri Lanka cricket team suffered a huge injury setback ahead of the upcoming Asia Cup 2023 tournament on Friday (August 25). The current champion might enter the tournament without the star pacer Dushmantha Chameera and the spinner Wanindu Hasaranga is likely to miss the group-stage matches due to different injuries. In addition to that, Kusal Perera and Avishka Fernando tested positive for the Covid-19 test on Friday.
Sri Lanka and Afghanistan are only two teams that are yet to announce their squad for Asia Cup 2023 which begins on August 30 in Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Now a question mark on four senior cricketers' availability hampers the team's squad announcement and their preparations for the tournament.
Hasaranga dominated the recently concluded Lanka Premier League 2023 tournament where he captained B-Love Kandy to title glory on August 20. He topped both runs and bowling chart to claim the Player of the Tournament award but missed the final due to a thigh strain.
According to a report from ESPNCricinfo, the Sri Lanka team manager Mahinda Halangoda revealed that the star spinner will miss the group-stage games against Bangladesh and Afghanistan. He also confirmed Chameera's shoulder injury and said that the left-arm pacer is likely to be ruled out of the entire tournament.
Chameera featured in only four games in LPL 2023 where he picked two wickets before getting injured on August 12. His absence is likely to hit Dasun Shanaka-led side in the Asia Cup 2023. Chameera returned to the ODI setup during the Afghanistan series in June where he picked six wickets in three innings to clinch the Player of the Series award.
But the 31-year-old speedster missed the ICC World Cup 2023 Qualifiers due to the same shoulder injury and now it seems that he is yet to completely recover. Sri Lanka won the qualifiers to secure a spot in the ICC World Cup 2023 with Hasaranga taking 22 wickets in just 7 innings so his injury will play a big role in their performances in Asia Cup 2023.
Meanwhile, both Perera and Fernando reportedly picked the COVID-19 virus during the latter stages of LPL 2023 and now Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is waiting on further updates on their reports before they announce the squad for Asia Cup 2023.
