PAK vs SL | Suranga Lakmal ruled out due to dengue

12/08/2019

Sri Lanka were struck a heavy a blow ahead of the Test series in Pakistan, starting December 11, after pace spearhead Suranga Lakmal got ruled out of the tour with dengue. While Sri Lanka will miss the services of Lakmal, the board has named Asitha Fernando, who will join the team midway the tour.

Sri Lanka were hit by a sudden omission of their pace-attack leader Suranga Lakmal from the squad who contracted dengue before the team departed for the two-match Test series in Pakistan on Sunday (December 8).

Lakmal has been replaced by youngster Asitha Fernando in the squad. Fernando will join the team only for the second Test as he is currently in Nepal as part of Sri Lanka's squad for the South Asian Games. Lakmal, who has played 59 Tests so far, was initially named in the full-strength squad for the tour that will see Pakistan hosting a Test match for the first time in ten years.

Fernando has never played a Test match for Sri Lanka and he has only represented the national side in 2017 in an ODI against Zimbabwe in 2017.

Unlike the T20I and ODI series in Pakistan two months back, Sri Lanka announced a full-strength squad that includes veteran like Angelo Mathews, skipper Dimuth Karunaratne andDinesh Chandimal.

The first Test match will be played in Rawalpindi from December 11 with the second Test scheduled to begin from December 19 in Karachi.