Sri Lanka has suffered a setback ahead of their upcoming T20I series against Bangladesh, with star leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga ruled out due to a hamstring injury. Captain Charith Asalanka confirmed that leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay has been named as Hasaranga’s replacement in the squad.
Hasaranga sustained a right hamstring injury while batting during the third and final ODI of the recently concluded series. He played a crucial role in Sri Lanka’s 2-1 ODI series victory. The leg-spinner picked up two wickets for 35 runs in the match, where the hosts secured a convincing 99-run win in Pallekele.
Charith Asalanka confirmed that Jeffrey Vandersay will replace the injured Wanindu Hasaranga. Asalanka called Hasaranga’s absence a "huge loss" and described the leg-spinner as the team's "superstar in white-ball cricket."
Dasun Shanaka is expected to take on a flexible role as a batting all-rounder, likely batting at number six, while Chamika Karunaratne is set to feature as a bowling all-rounder at number seven.
"He(Wanindu Hasaranga) will be a huge loss for us. He is our superstar in white-ball cricket," Asalanka said on Wednesday.
"We expect Dasun and Chamika to handle the all-around responsibilities. Dasun's role could be a floating one depending on the situation, while Chamika will add depth to our lower-middle order," Asalanka explained.
Wanindu Hasaranga finished as the leading wicket-taker in the ODI series, taking nine wickets at an average of 11.66. The spinner registered figures of 4/10 in the first ODI, followed by 3/60 and 2/35 in the next two games. Hasaranga also became the second-fastest Sri Lankan to reach 100 ODI wickets.
Earlier this year, Hasaranga became the fastest bowler to reach 300 wickets in men’s T20 cricket, achieving the milestone in just 208 matches. The 26-year-old is Sri Lanka’s highest wicket-taker in T20 Internationals with 131 dismissals at an average of 15.41 and an economy rate of 6.99.
Hasaranga is ranked No. 4 in the ICC Men’s T20I bowling rankings and fifth among T20I all-rounders. He will now head to Colombo to begin his rehabilitation at the High Performance Centre following a hamstring injury.
Charith Asalanka said that the team had set a target of moving into the top five of the T20I rankings. He added that the squad is focused on finalising its best playing combination and identifying key players for crucial roles.
"When we started, we had set a target to move up to number five in the T20 rankings. It's a process, and consistency is the key. We are still working on finalising our best combination and identifying players for those crucial spots," he said.
Bangladesh are a good T20 side, but like us, they lack experience in some areas. It's going to be a tough series. The pitch looks good for batting, and I believe we can post scores of 180-plus if we execute our plans."
