Fast bowler Nuwan Thushara’s broken finger will prevent him from playing in the forthcoming T20I series against India, which is a big blow for Sri Lanka’s cricket team. This injury, which occurred during a fielding drill, is the second setback to the host country’s speed attack in as many days, following Dushmantha Chameera.
Mahinda Halangoda, the team manager, stated that the injury happened on Wednesday night during a training session held under lights. Despite it not being his bowling hand, Nuwan Thushara left hand fractured, preventing him from playing in the series.
Nuwan Thushara has been a regular in Sri Lanka’s T20I lineup this year.
This blow to Sri Lanka’s bowling arsenal follows another defeat. The team had revealed just the day before that pacer Chameera would miss the series because of a lung ailment and pneumonia. In the ODI and T20I teams, Asitha Fernando was selected to take the position of the right-arm pacer.
The arrangements are excellent: Jayasuriya Sanath
The Lankan Lions would definitely feel Thushara’s absence considering his previous play. At the T20 World Cup 2024, he was one of Sri Lanka’s most impressive bowlers, taking eight wickets in three games.
He also achieved a T20I hat-trick earlier this year against Bangladesh, concluding with remarkable 5 for 20. As of right now, Dilshan Madushanka, a left-arm pacer, is being considered as a possible Thushara replacement by Sri Lanka.
The island nation has benefits despite these disadvantages. All members of the squad have recently played in the Lanka Premier League (LPL), which has given them invaluable match experience and knowledge with the local conditions, especially in Pallekele, where the tournament’s first leg was contested.
The team is now in Kandy for a training camp in anticipation of the series. Thanks to an arrangement made possible by former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara, the director of cricket at Rajasthan Royals, they are working with Zubin Bharucha, the high-performance director, on a temporary basis. Sanath Jayasuriya, the acting head coach, gave a speech regarding the training.
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“Training with Zubin was fantastic because we got to try a lot of new things. He and I worked together on a lot of projects, and I hope the players took away some valuable lessons about better practice and methods. We still have two days left in Kandy, therefore I think the preparations have been excellent,” Jayasuriya stated, citing sources.