ICC World Cup 2019 | Kasun Rajitha replaces Chickenpox-affected Nuwan Pradeep in Sri Lanka team

In what comes as a major blow for Sri Lanka ahead of their last two games of this World Cup, star pacer Nuwan Pradeep has been ruled out for the rest of the tournament due to Chickenpox. Pradeep put up impressive performances against Afghanistan and England earlier this World Cup, before being replaced by Suranga Lakmal in Sri Lanka's match against South Africa on Friday.

Sri Lanka have named Kasun Rajitha as Pradeep's replacement, whose inclusion has been approved by the ICC's Event's Technical Committee. 26-year-old Rajitha, who has played six Tests and as many ODIs for Sri Lanka, had been with the squad as a stand-by player and now he would be looking to fill in the boots of Pradeep, who notched up 5 wickets in this World Cup.

Rajitha made his ODI debut for Sri Lanka in 2018 against South Africa at Dambulla and coincidentally played his last ODI against the same team as well, at Port Elizabeth earlier this year. 

Sri Lanka will next play West Indies on July 1 at Chester-le-Street. After losing their previous match against the Proteas, Sri Lanka will need to win their next two matches to have any chance of making it to the semi-final.