Mumbai, Mar 31: Sri Lanka are flying in veteran left arm swing bowler Chaminda Vaas and young off spinner Suraj Randiv as cover for the injured Angelo Mathews and Muttiah Muralitharan in their squad for the World Cup final against India here on April 2.
"They Picked up a couple of niggles in the last match (semifinal against New Zealand on March 29 in Colombo). So to be on the safe side a couple of guys are flying in tonight. We will be giving those two guys (Mathews and Muralitharan) as long as possible to prove their fitness," said Lanka coach Trevor Bayliss at a media conference today.
Asked what was wrong with Mathews, Bayliss said "quadriceps muscle (injury)".
Muralitharan has been struggling with a knee injury that he sustained in Mumbai against New Zealand in their last league game on March 18 as well as a hamstring problem but Bayliss is confident the world's highest Test wicket-taker will play his final game before calling it a day from international cricket.
"I think his chances are good. He bowled his 10 overs in the semi-final and came through that OK. He is obviously a bit stiff and sore. He has the character and the will to win the World Cup and I will not be surprised if he plays," the Australian-born coach said.
Both Vaas and Randiv are not part of the 15-member Lanka Cup squad and all replacements due to injuries in the squad have to be approved by the International Cricket Council.
The 37-year-old Vaas played in his last and 322nd ODI in August, 2008 against India at Colombo. The wily left arm bowler has taken 400 wickets while the 26-year-old Randiv has played 21 ODIs and grabbed 22 wickets. PTI
