“He has to undergo surgery and will be out for about four weeks”
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Sri Lanka batsman Dimuth Karunaratne has been ruled out for the remainder of the World Cup after fracturing the little finger on his left hand.
Karunaratne, who has struggled with the bat throughout the tournament, sustained the injury during a fielding drill with the national team prior to their highly-anticipated match against Australia in Sydney on Sunday.
After being hurt, Karunaratne was rushed for an X-ray, which revealed the fracture.
Since Karunaratne will be returning home for surgery, Sri Lanka have called up all-rounder Seekkuge Prasanna as his replacement.
“Dimuth injured his hand during a fielding session and X-rays indicated a fracture just above the base of his left small finger,” chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya told ESPNcricinfo on Thursday. “He has to undergo surgery and will be out for about four weeks. He will return home and we have requested the ICC technical committee to include leg-spinner Seekkuge Prasanna in the squad as his replacement.”
Jayasuriya also confirmed that opening batsman Kusal Perera will be called up as a “precautionary measure”.
“We have only seven fit batsmen in the side and Kusal is being brought in as a precautionary measure,” Jayasuriya said.
Karunaratne is the latest Sri Lankan player to fall victim to an injury after pace bowler Dhammika Prasad, all-rounder Jeevan Mendis and left-arm spinner Rangana Herath.
Prasad broke his hand just two days before the World Cup began, Mendis injured his hamstring while training on February 24 and Herath needed four stitches on his left index finger after trying to take a return catch to dismiss England wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler.