Ollie Pope to miss most of 2019 season with shoulder injury

Surrey batsman suffered shoulder dislocation that will require surgery and could see him miss most of the season

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Apr-2019England’s stock of potential batting candidates for a summer that includes the World Cup and an Ashes series has been further hit by the news that Surrey’s Ollie Pope is likely to miss most of the season after dislocating his shoulder.News that Pope will require surgery on his left shoulder follows confirmation of Sam Billings, England’s likely back-up for the World Cup, being sidelined for three-five months with a similar injury.Surrey said that the club hoped Pope would be back in action “towards the back end of the current 2019 domestic season”. Pope has not been capped in limited-overs cricket but could have been in contention for England’s Test team to face Australia.A Surrey statement said: “After suffering an injury while fielding during Tuesday’s Royal London Cup victory over Essex at the Kia Oval, the 21-year-old was confirmed to have dislocated his shoulder. Having since visited a specialist, he has been advised that surgery would be the best course of action.”It is hoped he will return to first-team cricket towards the back end of the current 2019 domestic season.”Pope made his Test debut last summer, playing twice against India, and was part of the squad that toured Sri Lanka. He was subsequently released to join up with the Lions, but began the season with a career-best 251 in Surrey’s Champion County fixture against MCC.

Cheteshwar Pujara stays unbeaten to steer Saurashtra into final

Sheldon Jackson also completed a century to help them set up a title bout against defending champions Vidarbha

The Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy at the Chinnaswamy28-Jan-2019Just over ten years ago in Mumbai, Cheteshwar Pujara had scored an unbeaten 112 to steer Saurashtra to a fourth-innings target of 325 against Karnataka in the quarter-finals of the Ranji Trophy. On Monday, he completed a #10SeasonChallenge of sorts, his unbeaten 131 against the same opponents, this time at their backyard, leading Saurashtra home in another tricky fourth-innings chase, sealing a spot in their third Ranji final in seven seasons.Starting day five at 224 for 3, Saurashtra took 17.4 overs to knock off the 55 runs they still needed. Karnataka had too little to defend, with seven wickets still to get, but they made sure they made Saurashtra work for those runs.Sheldon Jackson, who put on 214 with Pujara for the fourth wicket, reached his hundred in the fourth over of the morning with a hooked four off Abhimanyu Mithun. He made a difficult shot look easy, meeting the ball in front of his right shoulder and rolling his wrists over to keep it down. In the very next over, though, Vinay Kumar got one to scoot through low and bowl him.Vinay, Karnataka’s talisman for so many years, and their captain when they won back-to-back domestic trebles in 2013-14 and 2014-15, has endured an ordinary season with the ball, ending with only 14 wickets in seven matches at an average of 33.71. On his last day of the season, however, he was a constant menace through his spell of seven overs, at one point beating Pujara twice in a row, first going past his inside edge and then the outside edge.Ronit More bowled a testing spell at the other end, using the short ball frequently with close catchers on the leg side, and Arpit Vasavada fell to this line of attack, fending one off his ribs to short leg.But, by then only five runs were required, and Pujara, who had calmly weathered all the pressure put on him by Karnataka – which was given an edge by what the home side perceived to be an umpiring error on day four, when they were sure he had nicked Vinay to the keeper – and whittled down the target effortlessly with clips into the leg side and steers down to third man, was still there.He would, however, be at the non-striker’s end when the winning runs came. After ducking three successive bouncers from More, Prerak Mankad got a half-volley next ball, and drove it through mid-off to spark raucous celebrations in the Saurashtra dressing room.

Karachi terror attack won't impact PSL, says PCB chief Najam Sethi

The PSL game between Karachi Kings and Quetta Gladiators will take place on schedule in Karachi on Saturday

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Feb-2023The PSL is set to continue uninterrupted despite a major terror attack in Karachi on Friday. Both Karachi Kings and Quetta Gladiators, who will face-off at Karachi’s National Stadium on Saturday, will field full-strength sides for the game, the PCB said.Terrorists from the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) launched an attack on the Karachi Police office near one of the city’s main thoroughfares, Shara-e-Faisal, on Friday evening. The combat lasted over three hours. All three terrorists were killed, as well as four others. It was the first major attack in Karachi in a number of years, though it came close on the heels of an attack on a mosque in Peshawar, on January 30.Gladiators were practicing at the National Stadium at that time of the attack, and were delayed getting back to their hotel. But the PCB said it remained confident in the security it has provided the teams.”The HBL PSL 8 will continue as planned after it has been established and confirmed that Friday’s incident was an isolated one, which was unrelated to cricket,” PCB head Najam Sethi said in a statement. “We have been working very closely with all stakeholders, including the local and foreign security experts, who have provided assurances and comfort that the event can proceed as there was no threat to cricket.”The PCB takes the safety and security of all those involved in the HBL PSL 8 very seriously. To ensure no stone is left unturned, Presidential-level security has been provided to the teams and officials. These unprecedented arrangements are similar to what were in place for international matches that have been highly praised and appreciated by the visiting teams and officials.”The PCB remains committed to providing complete safety and security to all the participants and, as always, will continue to work very closely with the security experts and law enforcing agencies to ensure the players and officials are comfortable and being well looked after so that they can enjoy their stay in Pakistan and continue to entertain the fans and followers with their cricketing skills and talent.”Pakistan has hosted an increasing number of teams in recent years for full tours. Over the last year, Australia, England and New Zealand have had successful tours, travelling to the country after a gap of nearly 20 years. That has meant all Full Members other than India, Afghanistan, Ireland and Zimbabwe have toured Pakistan over the last four years.The country has also hosted entire seasons of the PSL without incident, other than during the Covid-19 pandemic, when the second half of the 2020-21 season was played in the UAE. The UAE was Pakistan cricket’s home for nearly a decade earlier, after the terrorist attack on the Sri Lanka team in 2009 brought a halt to international cricket in the country.

Gary Kirsten, Dan Christian added to Netherlands' coaching staff

Both on short-term deals to work with the team during the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Oct-2022Netherlands have added Gary Kirsten and Dan Christian to their coaching staff on short-term deals for the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia.Kirsten’s academy in Cape Town, where Netherlands coach Ryan Cook has worked for a number of years, hosted the squad for a training camp in late September ahead of the tournament, while Christian joined up with the team in Adelaide after their recent arrival in Australia.Related

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“We are very excited to welcome both Gary Kirsten and Dan Christian to our coaching staff for the T20 World Cup,” Roland Lefebvre, the KNCB’s high performance manager, said. “They bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table, which will be of great help in the lead-up to and during the World Cup.”Kirsten has been part of three previous T20 World Cups as a head coach – in 2009 and 2010 with India, and in 2012 with South Africa – but his sides have never progressed as far as the semi-finals. This year, he was batting coach as Gujarat Titans won IPL 2022 but his Welsh Fire side endured a winless season in the Hundred, picking up the wooden spoon.”I really enjoyed working with the Dutch team in Cape Town and I look forward to joining them as a consultant in the T20 World Cup,” Kirsten said. “I was impressed with the level of skill and professionalism during the camp. They will be ready and determined to make a big impact at the T20 World Cup.”Christian was part of Australia’s squads for the 2010, 2012 and 2014 T20 World Cups and was a travelling reserve when they won the 2021 edition in the UAE. He has extensive knowledge of conditions at each venue for the 2022 edition as the most-capped player in Big Bash history.Christian added: “I’ve had a great couple of weeks getting to know the guys, and I’ve been extremely impressed with everyone’s work ethic at practice. I’m looking forward to seeing them have some well-deserved success on the field.”Netherlands played their first warm-up match on Monday, losing to Scotland by 18 runs, and will play West Indies in Melbourne on Wednesday before travelling to Geelong for their first-round fixtures against UAE, Namibia and Sri Lanka.They have named an experienced squad for the tournament, with county stalwarts Colin Ackermann and Roelof van der Merwe returning to the national set-up after long absences.

'World champion' Sam Curran bounces back stronger to give England title-winning edge

Allrounder says missing 2021 World Cup through injury helped development as a key cog in T20 side

Vithushan Ehantharajah14-Nov-2022Sam Curran has admitted he spent the last few weeks of the T20 World Cup asking the relevant seven members of England’s squad what it was like to win the 2019 50-over World Cup. Along with the buzz of success after so much hard work, they confirmed being able to say you had won a World Cup, putting you in an exclusive club among English sportspeople, was a perk that did not get old. “Now to be in that position to say I’ve won one is very cool,” he said.The 24-year-old can also let people know he was Player of the Match in the final, with 3 for 12 against Pakistan at the MCG, and moreover the Player of the Tournament with 13 wickets – joint second from just 22.4 overs – at 11.38. Depending on how well-versed the company he finds himself in, he might even let them know he answered England’s call for a death bowler in emphatic fashion.But Curran feels the overall prize is much more satisfying. Not least because it is a declaration that makes everything that came before it worthwhile – vindicating the hard work and the tough times. For Curran, the latter was a lower back injury that ruled him out of the 2021 T20 World Cup in the UAE,Related

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“I don’t care about the injury,” Curran declared with a smile. “I can call myself a world champion, which is pretty cool. Obviously missed the last tournament and was gutted and the guys lost in the semi-final. But there was no real talk about that this year, it was just we’ve got a job on our hands.”Curran, though, does care. Or at least he recognises the opportunity the injury provided him. “I think I can look back at my injury maybe as a positive. I got a little bit stronger and it was the first bit of a break since I started playing.”Part of the rehabilitation back at his county Surrey involved getting him more robust physically, leading to far more gym work than he would usually be able to do given the relentless schedule. There was also the opportunity to work on fine-tuning his action with Surrey bowling coach Azhar Mahmood, which involved working on achieving more bounce by having his arm slightly taller and not closing in on himself as he delivered the ball.It meant when his captain Jos Buttler sat him down on the tour of Pakistan to talk about a role he saw Curran playing with the ball, which involved being able to perform in the powerplay, middle overs and at the death, he had the requisite skills to excel.”I think maybe it was a bit of freshness and doing a little bit of work back at Surrey,” Curran said of how the break helped. “Getting a little bit stronger, working on alignment. I think that’s again confidence: when you’re playing well and feeling in good rhythm you can naturally get a bit more of a buzz towards the crease.”These grounds in Australia are probably suited to the way I wanted to bowl and make guys hit me towards the bigger boundaries. It’s my first time playing in Australia so that’s been a great challenge and I’ve loved it because we’ve won the tournament so maybe I’ll keep coming back here more.”Curran was full of praise for Ben Stokes’ contribution•AFP/Getty Images

In terms of inspiration as a death bowler, there was no one in particular, he said. What nuggets garnered from around him came through conversations with bowling coach David Saker and the rest of the attack. There was, however, one man Curran describes as a constant source of inspiration to him and many others within English cricket – fellow allrounder, Ben Stokes.”When Stokesy was out there, geez…” started Curran before losing his thoughts thinking of the innings of 52 not out that eventually took England to their target of 138 with an over to spare. “He’s done it so many times.”I’ve looked up to him for so long and, phwoar, he’s got so much guts and passion and he just does it time after time.”There isn’t too much similar to Curran and Stokes. One looks like he’s due to hit puberty, the other looks like he’s been through it twice. But there is an overriding sense that, like Stokes, Curran has a knack for the big occasion. Maybe not as bombastically as his team-mate, but enough to consistently fulfil a role for England bowling late in the innings when batters target you most without being fazed.”I probably wouldn’t have loved being in the middle when we needed that – he made it look very easy,” Curran responded when it is suggested he would have enjoyed the pressure of the chase. Really? “No, I probably wouldn’t!”I’ve looked up to him [Stokes], he’s always contributing to all three phases of the game, bat, ball and in the field. That’s what you strive to to do – be there in the moment when the crunch time is. He’s done that so many times recently, that gives you inspiration and gives you confidence in the dugout when he’s out in the middle.”Curran might not realise it just yet, but, like Stokes, team-mates and England fans alike will feel a similar comfort going forward whenever the ball is in his hand. He has more than earned that trust after ensuring he, along with this England team, can call themselves “world champions”.

Robi Axiata pulls out of Bangladesh sponsorship deal

The telecom company’s decision to terminate a contract that was due to run until the 2019 World Cup has caught the BCB by surprise

Mohammad Isam27-Aug-2018Robi Axiata, the telecom company, has ended its title sponsorship deal with the BCB. The board has expressed surprise over the decision, stating it had been in the process of getting players to terminate individual endorsement deals with rival brands – the reason behind Robi pulling out of their second two-year contract, which was due to extend until the 2019 World Cup.”Robi has withdrawn from their sponsorship deal of Bangladesh national team,” BCB chief executive Nizamuddin Chowdhury said. “They have said that since individual player endorsements with conflicting brands wasn’t getting solved completely, they took this decision. But we felt that that they had a different strategic reason.”We couldn’t entirely accept their way of thinking. We took a number of steps after discussing this with Robi. Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal discontinued their individual deals with mobile companies. [ODI] captain Mashrafe Mortaza is also in the process of discontinuing his deal with Grameenphone. Since we were going through this process and they were informed about it, Robi’s decision has surprised us.”In its statement on Sunday, Robi Axiata only said the current deal “falls short in upholding the spirit of the agreement”, without divulging any more details. Robi had first signed a two-year contract with the BCB for BDT 41.41 crore (USD 5.32 million) in 2015, after Amby Valley, an affiliate of Sahara India Parivar, had also prematurely ended their title sponsorship contract with the BCB.Chowdhury said individual players’ endorsements with conflicting brands had been included in the terms with Robi in their second two-year deal, so Mashrafe’s personal deal with Grameenphone, the country’s leading telecom company, wasn’t a problem. Still, Chowdhury said the BCB had asked the ODI captain to end his deal with Grameenphone, who had parted ways with Tamim following the board’s directive earlier this year. Shakib terminated his deal with Banglalink, another telecom company, for the same reason.”Individual players’ conflicting brand has been in discussion for quite some time,” Chowdhury said. “It was a matter of time before they were told to come out of their contracts. We needed breathing space, and we were reaching a settlement with Robi. So this sudden decision is disappointing. Still, we thank them for their support.”These deals were done in different times. Mashrafe signed up [with Grameenphone] when there were no terms with Robi regarding the conflict, during the first two-year deal. It was added later. We addressed it accordingly when Shakib and Tamim did their deals. We mentioned in the settlement agreement with Robi that we are trying to come out of these deals.”Chowdhury, however, said such conflicts would not be allowed in the future. “Players’ freedom and team sponsorship doesn’t really go hand in hand,” he said. “When a player does a deal, the company’s massive branding dilutes the team sponsorship’s own branding. So the board will have to stop players from going into these deals with conflicting brands.”The BCB will now look for a title sponsor ahead of the Asia Cup, which is three weeks away. “Legal teams from both sides are settling the matter,” Chowdhury said. “We will claim the full amount during the course of our contracted period.”We will send out a circular in the next day or two, as we are looking for a new sponsor before the Asia Cup.”

West Indies eye successive Test wins after four years

After decimating Sri Lanka by 226 runs at Port-of-Spain, Jason Holder will hope for a repeat showing from his side

The Preview by Andrew Fidel Fernando13-Jun-2018

Big Picture

Sri Lanka had hoped this would be one of their easier away tours this year. West Indies’ home record was modest; Sri Lanka’s Test side was picking up some momentum. But the Test in Port-of-Spain wasn’t merely a defeat, it was a decimation. Twice West Indies’ quicks scythed through the visitors’ top order. Although Sri Lanka had fielded five frontline bowlers, they still could not capitalise on having the opposition 147 for 5 on the first day. On a batting track, only Kusal Mendis could muster a score of over 45 – and even that, only having given two clear-cut chances.When these teams had last met, in Sri Lanka in 2015, West Indies had shown flashes of individual brilliance but had failed to come together as a team. In the first Test, they had no such problems. Commitment to the team cause was visible in the way Devendra Bishoo and Kemar Roach buckled down alongside Shane Dowrich, to haul West Indies to a formidable score. Even with the ball, there were unlikely contributors – Roston Chase running through Sri Lanka’s tail on the fifth day, after the quicks had knocked out the top order.While the hosts surge, Sri Lanka have tactical questions to answer. Is the five-frontline bowler strategy worth persisting with, given Dilruwan Perera’s modest returns with the ball? Kusal Perera is likely to make way for Dhananjaya de Silva at the top of the innings, but can Sri Lanka accommodate Kusal lower down the order, now that Angelo Mathews has left the tour? And is the attack dynamic enough? Or does it require the insertion of Akila Dananjaya?However Sri Lanka chooses to answer those questions, they will be in flux – Lahiru Gamage also having left the Caribbean, with a fractured finger.West Indies are in the unusual position of having to follow up a supremely dominant performance. One fact that may give Sri Lanka some hope is that it has been almost four years, and 31 Tests, since West Indies won back-to-back matches.

Form guide

Sri Lanka LWDDL (completed matches, most recent first)
West Indies WLLDW

In the spotlight

While the opposition struggles with balancing their XI, the man who ensures West Indies have no such issues is Jason Holder. He was part of his team’s the first-innings resistance with the bat in game one, before supporting the frontline bowlers through the remainder of the Test. That he is growing in confidence as a leader was evident from his first-innings declaration – pulling the batsmen out with the score at 414 for 8, in order to bowl at Sri Lanka late on the second day. His batting average is on a gentle forward march, but it is a breakdown of his bowling figures that provides the biggest surprise. In West Indies victories, Holder averages a staggering 17.69, compared to his average of over 50 in drawn and lost Tests. If Holder gets wickets, West Indies tend to be competitive.It was a surprise that Lahiru Kumara took twice as many wickets as any other Sri Lanka bowler in Trinidad. Although he is still hugely indisciplined, the pace and bounce he generated made him effective on a largely unresponsive track. Kumara’s issue, though, has been consistency. He excites on occasion, but can just as easily go wicketless and leak a hundred runs in the next match. With Gamage out of the side, Sri Lanka are desperate for Kumara to provide the same intensity in St Lucia that he had shown in Trinidad.

Team news

Devon Smith’s comeback Test did not go well. But it is possible West Indies will give him another shot at the top of the order, which will, of course, keep Shimron Hetmyer out of the XI. If Hetmyer does play, he will probably bat at No. 3 and Powell will open the innings again. Elsewhere, West Indies are unlikely to make changes.West Indies (possible): 1 Kraigg Brathwaite, 2 Devon Smith, 3 Kieran Powell, 4 Shai Hope, 5 Roston Chase, 6 Shane Dowrich (wk), 7 Jason Holder (capt), 8 Devendra Bishoo, 9 Miguel Cummins, 10 Kemar Roach, 10 Shannon GabrielIf Dhananjaya de Silva plays, Sri Lanka not only gain a batsman averaging over 45 after 13 Tests (though his best performances have come in Asia), they also have a half-decent offspinner in the top six. Perhaps this will prompt them to return to a 7-4 combination, fielding an extra batsman in place of another bowler. Dilruwan Perera, the most orthodox of Sri Lanka’s spinners, also stands to lose his spot to Akila Dananjaya – a far less experienced but more aggressive option.Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Kusal Mendis, 2 Mahela Udawatte, 3 Dhananjaya de Silva, 4 Roshen Silva, 5 Dinesh Chandimal (capt), 6 Kusal Perera, 7 Niroshan Dickwella (wk), 8 Rangana Herath, 9 Suranga Lakmal, 10 Akila Dananjaya, 11 Lahiru Kumara

Pitch and conditions

The weather is forecast to worsen in Gros Islet over the weekend, possibly causing interruptions.Seam bowlers had done well in the most-recent Test played at this venue – the India-West Indies Test of 2016. Given the home quicks’ dominance in Trinidad, a lively pitch could be expected.

Stats and trivia

  • Rangana Herath is now on 418 Test wickets, making him the most-successful fingerspinner in Test history (Muttiah Muralitharan primarily used his wrist to impart spin, though he was an offspinner). Only Murali, Shane Warne and Anil Kumble sit ahead of him on the spinners’ list.
  • West Indies’ last back-to-back Test victories came against Bangladesh, at home, in September 2014.
  • Three of the five Tests played in Gros Islet have been draws, but the two most-recent matches have produced results. West Indies beat Bangladesh there in that 2014 series, then lost to India in 2016.

Kapp, Lee and du Preez ruled out of Ireland white-ball tour

Sune Luus will lead a group that includes one new cap in batting allrounder Delmi Tucker

Firdose Moonda23-May-2022South Africa will be without Marizanne Kapp, Lizelle Lee, Mignon du Preez, Sinalo Jafta and Masabata Klaas during their white-ball tour of Ireland next month.Kapp, Lee and Jafta are all recovering from illnesses, Klaas is out with a shoulder injury, and du Preez, who retired from ODIs but remains available in the shortest format, has been left out of the squad scheduled play three T20Is and three ODIs in Dublin. Regular captain Dane van Niekerk is also not in the touring party as she continues to recover from the ankle injury that ruled her out of the World Cup.That means van Niekerk’s participation in the England tour that follows, which includes a one-off Test, three ODIs, three T20Is and the Commonwealth Games, is in doubt. The final squad for those matches will be announced in the first week of June, which gives van Niekerk little over a week to make the cut. She returned to training earlier this month and is currently still on an individual program, and not training with the rest of the group. The South African squad that travels to Ireland will remain in the UK, with any personnel changes for the England series and Commonwealth Games to travel in or out as needed.For the Ireland matches, Sune Luus will lead a group that includes one new cap, batting allrounder Delmi Tucker, who has recently played for the South African Emerging side against Zimbabwe and Thailand. Tucker also had a successful domestic season for Western Province, where she scored 409 runs white ball cricket and took 15 wickets with her right-arm off-spin. “Delmi Tucker has been rewarded off the back of a very successful domestic season and has really made positive strides with significant contributions, and we are looking forward to seeing her transition into the international arena,” Clinton du Preez, South Africa’s selection convener, said.The rest of the squad includes the familiar faces of Shabnim Ismail, Laura Wolvaardt, Chloe Tryon and Ayabonga Khaka as well as all three reserves who traveled to the World Cup – Raisibe Ntozakhe, Nadine de Klerk and Andrie Steyn. Anneke Bosch, who missed the World Cup with a fractured thumb, also returns.While the T20Is are part of South Africa’s preparation for the Commonwealth Games and next year’s T20 World Cup, the ODIs are part of the 2022 to 2025 Women’s Championship, which will determine qualification for the 2025 World Cup.”When we are looking at the T20Is, there is a bigger picture when it comes to that. It is a new beginning for us this year, building up towards the T20 World Cup and the Commonwealth Games,” Hilton Moreeng, South Africa’s coach, said. “The senior players know what is at stake. The ODIs are the ICC Women’s Championship qualifications for the next 50-over World Cup, so there is a lot at stake in the sense that we are also looking to grow our base.”Squad: Anneke Bosch, Tazmin Brits, Trisha Chetty, Nadine de Klerk, Lara Goodall, Shabnim Ismail, Ayabonga Khaka, Sune Luus (capt), Nonkululeko Mlaba, Raisibe Ntozakhe, Tumi Sekhukhune, Andrie Steyn, Chloe Tryon, Delmi Tucker, Laura Wolvaardt

Asela Gunaratne ruled out of T20 tri-series

The batsman sustained an injury on his right arm while diving during a fielding drill on the Bangladesh tour

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Feb-2018Sri Lanka batsman Asela Gunaratne’s injury woes continue, having now been ruled out of next month’s T20 tri-series – the Nidahas Trophy – with an injury to his right arm. An SLC release said he sustained a “grade II rotator cuff strain with contusion” while taking part in a fielding drill on their recent tour of Bangladesh. Although Sri Lanka won each of the three trophies that had been up for grabs, the 32-year old did not have the best time personally: he made only 35 ODI runs in four innings.While Gunaratne is the only player to have been ruled out so far, several others are also battling to regain fitness. Most notable among these is captain Angelo Mathews who missed the majority of the Bangladesh tour with another in a long line of hamstring injuries, and is yet to make a full recovery. Also ailing from a hamstring complaint is fast bowler Shehan Madushanka, who sustained the injury during the final match of the Bangladesh tour. Batsman Kusal Perera, meanwhile, had been out with a side strain since mid-January.More clarity on who will be available for selection should emerge after this weekend, when the first round of a domestic T20 tournament is set to be played. “All players are asked to play club T20 games this weekend,” cricket manager Asanka Gurusinha told ESPNcricinfo. “After that we will look at how the injured guys come up.”Injuries – particularly muscle strains – have been rife among Sri Lanka’s national players over the past year. In fact, before he got injured again, Kusal Perera had only recently made a return to international cricket after five months due to a hamstring tear. Gunaratne had also missed several months of cricket, though that was due to a fracture. Mathews meanwhile, has been fit for fewer matches than he has been unavailable for, over the past 18 months.The Nidahas Trophy will be contested by India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, and will begin on March 6.

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