Sri Lankan fast bowler Nuwan Pradeep’s injury curse has struck again, as he is reportedly ruled out of the forthcoming five-match One-Day International series against Pakistan after hurting his hamstring.
Cricket news outlet Cricbuzz claimed that the news got revealed to them by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) sources.
The report claimed that the right-arm pacer complained about stiffness in his hamstring after the second Test against Pakistan in Dubai which the Islanders won by 68 runs to sweep the two-Test series. Pradeep, who played both the Tests, complained of a hamstring problem towards the end of the first Test in Abu Dhabi but went on to play the following game too, taking three wickets in the series.
He will now undergo scans in Colombo to assess the extent of the injury. Fast bowler Lahiru Gamage, who made his Test debut in Dubai, has been retained for the upcoming series, which will start in Dubai on Friday (October 13).
It is the second time in recent months that Pradeep got sidelined due to an injury. In August, he got ruled out the three-match series against India after suffering a grade-one hamstring injury on the opening day of the second Test.
Meanwhile, the Islanders will be hoping to continue their winning run against Pakistan in the ODIs after clean sweeping the two-Test series.
Sri Lanka has endured a terrible time in the 50-over cricket this year, having been whitewashed by South Africa and India in addition to suffering a shocking series loss at home against Zimbabwe and drawing the series against Bangladesh. Sri Lanka also exited the Champions Trophy at the group stage.
The task, however, will not be an easy one, as Pakistan is the reigning Champions Trophy winners and will be playing their first ODI since the win in England in June.