Nishan Peiris earns maiden call-up as Vishwa Fernando ruled out of New Zealand Tests
Left-arm pacer Vishwa Fernando has been ruled out of the remainder of the Tests against New Zealand due to a hamstring tightness. As a surprise, the Sri Lankan Cricket Board (SLC) has summoned Nishan Peiris, a right-arm off-spinner to fill the void for the paceman ahead of the second Test in Galle.
Peiris, who was a part of the Sri Lanka squad twice - in 2018 and in March this year - is yet to make his debut for the island nation. In 41 First Class matches, he has bagged 172 wickets at a bowling average of 24.37. He has been roped in on the back of impressive performance in the domestic circuit including a three-fer against South Africa A in the unofficial Test.
Meanwhile, Fernando was not selected for the first Test against the Kiwis where the hosts emerged victorious by 63 runs, courtesy of Prabath Jayasuriya’s stellar show, scalping nine wickets across two innings.
“Vishwa Fernando had developed a tightness in his right hamstring while practicing, hence, he has been sent to the High Performance Center for rehabilitation. Nishan Peiris, the 27-year-old right-arm offspinner, has been added to the squad in place of Fernando,” SLC took to twitter to announce the paceman’s injury.
Sri Lanka have switched to home conditions after a valiant fight against England where they lost the series 2-1. As a result, only two pacers played in the first Test against the Black Caps and the same could take place in the upcoming one, to be held at the same venue. With Ramesh Mendis turning out expensive and earning criticism from captain Dhananjaya de Silva during the post-match talks, Peiris could well be in for a Test debut after a long wait.
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