Highlights
- Niroshan Dickwella, Asitha Fernando and Matheesa Pathirana have been sent to Australia
- Sri Lanka have so far won one and lost one in the Super 12 stage
- Sri Lanka next face New Zealand in the T20 World Cup 2022
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) star Matheesa Pathirana will travel to Australia to be part of the reserve squad after Sri Lanka have been going through a turmoil of injury crisis during the T20 World Cup 2022. Pathirana, nicknamed Jr Lasith Malinga will be joined by Niroshan Dickwella and Asitha Fernando in the travel reserve squad as the board of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC has avoided taking any injury risk. They have already seen the likes of Dushmantha Chameera and Danushka Gunathilaka miss out after they sustained injuries.
In a statement released on the Twitter handle of SLC, it read, “SLC has decided to send 3 additional players to Australia to remain as backups in the event of any replacements. Niroshan Dickwella, Asitha Fernando, & Matheesa Pathirana will be sent along with Tim McCaskill, Head of the High-Performance Center of the SLC,” the statement concluded.
Matheesa Pathirana, 19, has an action similar to former Sri Lanka great Lasith Malinga and has been dubbed the Jr Malinga or simply Baby Malinga. Binura Fernando who came in as a replacement for Dilshan Madushanka was ruled out with a hamstring injury. The vulnerability in the squad and a lack of fitness have seen Sri Lanka take no chance and named the additions
Pramod Madushan, who is not yet to be ruled out of the T20 World Cup 2022 has also been part of the treatment table since playing in the UAE match.
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Sri Lanka have so far beaten Ireland and lost to Australia in the Super 12 stage. Their next match is against New Zealand on Saturday at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). The Lankan side had started their journey in the Round 1 stage where they advanced despite getting beaten by Namibia. They later beat Netherlands and UAE in the Round 1 to qualify for the Super 12.
