Sri Lankan skipper Dasun Shanaka has expressed his disappointment over injuries to their key players ahead of their campaign opener against Bangladesh on August 31. Defending Champions Sri Lanka’s title defence has dealt with a major blow with four of their important players being ruled out of the tournament.
The six-nation Asia Cup 2023 started on Wednesday, with Pakistan registering a massive victory over Nepal on home soil to open their tally in the league stage. Sri Lanka is grouped alongside Bangladesh and Afghanistan, as the top two in the group stage will make it into the group 4 stage.
Dasun Shanaka-led side surprised everyone in the last edition of the continental event, as they came up top against Asian Giants India and Pakistan to win the championship in Dubai and the Sri Lankan side will be hoping to defend their title on the home soil.
Speaking to the media ahead of the game against Bangladesh, Dasun Shanaka feels that they could not do anything about the injury to the players and said that the team is training hard to perform well under pressure in the forthcoming Asia Cup 2023 and reckons that they have experienced players in their batting lineup going into the continental event.
“We can’t stop injuries from happening, Unfortunately, it’s something that’s been happening to our team repeatedly. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the way we train or in our efforts. But I think we perform well under pressure. We have the team to be able to do that, particularly on the batting front. We have experienced players. I think we’ll be able to go far despite that pressure,” Dasun Shanaka said.
Star performer of the Lankan Premier League (LPL 2023) Wanindu Hasaranga is set to miss out on the tournament, due to the aggravated thigh injury that he suffered during their primary T20 league in the country and could be a vital miss for the team in Asia Cup 2023 alongside Dushmantha Chameera, Lahiru Madushanka, and Lahiru Kumara.
Sri Lankan pacer Dushamantha Chameera is set to miss out on the continental event due to a shoulder injury, while Lahiru Madushanka injured himself during a practice game and Lahiru Kumara is set to miss due to side strain. The injuries to the key players have forced the change in plans for the Sri Lankan team going into the first game, as they will rely more on their experienced players to deliver the goods in the Asia Cup 2023.