In a major blow for the Sri Lanka cricket team ahead of their first of the three-match T20I series against India at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy, their star left-arm pacer has been ruled out of the game after he had been hospitalized after suffering a chest infection.
This news has made the bowling department thinner after they lost their experienced expressive fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera, who was ruled out of the series due to illness, while the upcoming sensational medium-pacer Nuwan Thushara had to pull out late due to his finger injury.
The latter, even after his small number of appearances, has the pedigree of playing various T20 leagues, and within the absence of these three fast bowlers, Sri Lanka would be hoping to get assistance from their spinners to do the lion’s share of the job with the ball in hand.
Inexperienced off-spinner joins Sri Lanka for T20I series
The left-arm pacer of the Sri Lanka team, Binura Fernando has been ruled out of the first T20I game against India because of his chest infection which forced him to be hospitalized. He was top-notch during the recent Lanka Premier League (LPL) 2024, where he was the fifth-highest wicket-taker of the event.
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Fernando collected 13 wickets in eight innings, at an average of 16 and a strike rate of just over 14, while his economy rate of under seven was quite impressive, as he made life hard for the batters to score against him.
The 29-year-old Sri Lanka bowler has been part of 17 T20I games, where he has picked up 16 wickets at an average of 30.50, and a strike rate of 21.4, and an economy rate of 8.53. This is quite a decent record to have in the shortest format of the game, as his best figure is 2/12.
However, he has the experience of being part of various leagues around the world, having taken 127 T20 wickets in 99 innings, at an average of under 20 and a strike rate of just over 16. The economy rate of 7.14 is quite valuable, as he uses his height quite well to make it uncomfortable for the batters to score against him.
On social media, the Sri Lanka Cricket team informed about the chest infection of Fernando and named the replacement too.
‘Binura Fernando has been hospitalized as the player is suffering from a chest infection. Ramesh Mendis has been brought into the squad as a standby player.’ Sri Lanka Cricket tweeted on ‘X’. (Formerly known as Twitter).
The spin-bowling all-rounder Ramesh Mendis has been drafted into the squad in place of Fernando, along with Avishka Fernando and Dilshan Madushanka who were the other replacing options in the squad.
The Ambalangoda-born has been part of only two T20I games, since making his debut almost three years ago, where he has collected only one wicket at an economy of 5.50 and an average of 22. When it comes to the T20s, the Sri Lanka off-spinner has recorded 60 wickets at an economy of just over seven, besides scoring over 1000 runs at a strike rate of over 130.
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However, Mendis hasn’t been in great touch in the recent LPL 2024, having picked up only four wickets in six games he played for the Kandy Falcons.
The last few months haven’t been easy for the 2014 champions, as they were kicked out of the group stage of the Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, having won one solitary game in the West Indies and the United States of America. Under Charith Asalanka, their new captain of the format, they will aim to start a new chapter.