“I would not try to rush Herath back, either for the match with Australia or for the clash with Scotland”

Image courtesy of: Zimbio

Legendary Sri Lanka spinner Muttiah Muralitharan has urged the national team to give Rangana Herath adequate time to recover from the finger injury he sustained during his side’s nine-wicket win over England.

Herath was split the skin on the inside of his left index finger when trying to take a return catch that was smashed back at him by England wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler on the fifth ball of the 49th over.

Herath needed four stitches to seal the wound and, as a result, he is likely to miss Sri Lanka’s World Cup match against Australia on March 8.

“He has been Sri Lanka’s steadiest and most reliable bowler so far in the tournament,” Muralitharan wrote in his column for the International Cricket Council (ICC). “I would not try to rush Herath back, either for the match with Australia or for the clash with Scotland.

“An injury like the one he has picked up to his spinning finger needs time to heal so I would allow him the maximum time to recover.”