Danushka Gunathilaka will return back to Sri Lanka to undergo treatment

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

Sri Lanka have been dealt another blow ahead of the Asia Cup as batsman Danushka Gunathilaka has been ruled out of the tournament with a lower back injury.

Gunathilaka sustained the injury while training with the team in the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday evening.

He will now return to Sri Lanka to undergo treatment, while batting all-rounder Shehan Jayasuriya has been called up as his replacement.

Gunathilaka, 27, has featured in 33 ODIs thus far and accumulated 957 runs, which includes a century and seven fifties, at an average of 30.87.

Jayasuriya, meanwhile, has played eight ODIs and scored 69 runs at an average of 13.80. He has yet to make a half-century as his highest score to date is 31.

Gunathilaka is the second Sri Lankan player to the sidelined for the Asia Cup after batsman Dinesh Chandimal, who will miss the competition after failing to sufficiently recover from a fractured right middle finger.

Sri Lanka will begin their Asia Cup campaign against Bangladesh in Dubai tomorrow.