- KJP didn’t perform as we expected, says Asst. Coach Naveed Nawaz
Sri Lanka’s injury woes keep adding up as they are forced to add another replacement to the side in Dushmantha Chameera. The team is set to make two changes in Dimuth Karunaratne replacing Kusal Perera at the top and Chameera replacing injured Lahiru Kumara for today's game against Afghanistan.
It is a growing concern for the Lankans as their players continue to crumble like dominoes in long tournaments. Last year, Sri Lanka lost Dushmantha Chameera, Pramod Madushan, Binura Fernando, Danishka Gunathilaka, and Pathum Nissanka due to injuries during the T20 World Cup in Australia.
The trend continues this year with Matheesha Pathirana, Lahiru Kumara, and Dasun Shanaka ruled out and replaced with Dushmantha Chameera, Angelo Mathews, and Chamika Karunaratne. This is a major concern for the coaching team and they should give prominence to rectify this matter going forward.
At the press conference prior to the match, Assistant Coach Naveed Nawaz speaking about the injuries said: “I cannot point out an exact reason for these injuries. Pathirana picked up a shoulder injury while fielding in one of the practice matches. That’s what triggered the injury that ruled him out. Same happened to Dilshan Madushanka during the Asia Cup last year. I think seamers who bow quicker than 140 clicks tend to get injured more. Chameera also picked up a shoulder injury during the Afghanistan series this year. We should focus on how we can expedite the rehabilitation process.”
Kumara’s injury news came early in the morning yesterday after he struggled to bowl during the practice session on Saturday. After scans, it was revealed that there was a tear in his left quadriceps muscle.
Sri Lanka with no hesitation sent in Chameera’s name as the replacement and it was approved by the ICC technical committee. Nawaz confirmed at the press conference that Chameera will straight away make it to the XI to play against Afghanistan today.
When queried about the recent form of Kusal Perera and probability of Dimuth Karunaratne replacing him at the top, Nawaz said: “We have Kusal the licence to play his natural game. Unfortunately he could only get runs against Australia. Unfortunately, he hasn’t had much cricket under his belt because he just recovered from a surgery recently. We have had discussions regarding the opening combination and Dimuth is definitely in contention because we have used him at the top as well. However, we are yet to finalise on that and we’ll take a call once we take a look at the pitch in the morning.”
The Pune pitch is expected to produce a lot of runs as both teams come to the game on the back of comfortable wins in their previous games. The two teams have met several times in the last two years, and the Afghans have had the better of the Lions in two occasions, with the most recent match in the Asia Cup going right down to the wire.