Rangana Herath is in doubt for the upcoming two-Test series against New Zealand starting on December 26.
Herath, who had ruled himself out of the first Test in Christchurch earlier due to personal reasons, is now in further doubt due to the hamstring injury which he sustained in pre-match practice on Tuesday ahead of the fifth ODI against England in Pallekele.
Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Sri Lanka team manager Michael de Zoysa said that Herath’s injury has ruled him out for this current series and he has not been fully assessed. The full extent of the injury will be known only on Thursday.
Herath has been in good form in this series with seven wickets in four games at an average of 25. In Tests, he is the leading wicket-taker this year with 60 wickets in 10 Tests at an average of 27.45. His best match haul of 14/184, including 9/127 came against Pakistan at the SSC in August. With Herath’s absence, Sri Lanka will lack experience as they head to New Zealand for a Test series after a gap of eight years. In the absence of Herath, Tharindu Kaushal and Dilruwan Perera could be the spinners.
In the ongoing ODI series, Herath’s place will be taken by Sachithra Senanayake, whose action was cleared yesterday by the ICC. There is a strong possibility of Senanayake playing in the fifth ODI.
