Injured SL pacer Lahiru Kumara ruled out of WC; Chameera named as replacement

Pune, Oct 29 (PTI) Sri Lanka suffered a big blow ahead of their must-win match against Afghanistan as pacer Lahiru Kumara was on Sunday ruled out of the remainder of the World Cup with a left thigh muscle injury.

Kumara suffered the niggle here during a training session and the ICC technical committee has approved pacer Dushmantha Chameera as his replacement.

Kumara had shown fine form during Sri Lanka’s eight-wicket win over England in Bengaluru on October 26.

His three-wicket haul (3/35) helped the Islanders bowl out the defending champions for a paltry 156.

Chameera was not included in Sri Lanka’s initial 15-member World Cup squad after he suffered an injury during the Lanka Premier League.

But later, the right-arm quick was called up as a travelling reserve along with veteran Angelo Mathews.

Mathews was also drafted into the Sri Lanka squad as a replacement for injured pacer Matheesha Pathirana ahead of the match against England.

Sri Lanka (NRR: -0.205) have four points from five matches and are now placed fifth on the table, while Afghanistan (NRR: -0.969) with similar numbers are placed seventh on the basis of net run rate.