Sevens sensation Srinath Sooriyabandara and captain Sudarshana Muthuthantri will miss the 1st leg of the Asia 7s series which will take place on the 2nd & 3rd of September at the Hong Kong Football Club in Happy Valley, Hong Kong.
The 2nd leg will be in South Korea on the 24th and 25th of September while the final leg will be played in Colombo on the 15th & 16th of October.
Sooriyabandara, who has been a sensation in the shorter format, suffered a concussion in the concluded Sri Lanka Super Sevens tournament. Although he has returned to training, the team doctors have advised him to stay away from contact for a couple of weeks, meaning he will have to sit out the first leg.
Captain Sudarshana Muthuthantri, on the other hand, suffered a wrist fracture at the Monaco 7s in June and is still recovering; he too is expected to be ready for the 2nd leg of the series.
Kanchana Ramanayake and Rehan Theyagarajah also picked up shoulder injuries during the Super Sevens tournament while Mithun Hapugoda’s collarbone injury means that he too will miss the 1st Leg of the Asia 7s series.
Hapugoda has been a key figure in the national line-up but has been unfortunate with injuries as he missed out on last year’s national duties as well after suffering an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury. He has also captained Sri Lanka previously and is someone who could have led the team in the absence of Muthuthantri.
Former captain Fazil Marija and his Kandy SC teammates Nigel Ratwatte, Gayan Weerarathne, Shehan Pathirana and Anurudda Wilwara, who missed out on the Monaco 7s and the Asian Rugby Championship in May due to injury, are yet to recover and will sit out the 1st leg of the Asian Sevens series as well. Last year’s Havelock’s captain Sandun Herath is also nursing an injury so too Suhiru Anthony the big ball carrier of Kandy SC.
Who will captain?
Experienced Navy Winger Dinusha Chathuranga seems to be back in form as he performed well in the concluded Super 7s and is an option alongside Dhanushka Ranjan, who has been outstanding for the Tuskers since he made his debut. Perhaps SLRFU might even consider young and upcoming players like Jason Dissanayake or Dulaj Perera for the role. The selectors will have to make a decision on this, with the final squad to be announced next week.
Meanwhile, five players from the champion U20 team, Captain Kevin Dixon, Omalka Gunarathne, Nishon Perera, Buddima Piyarathne and Rehan Silva, are also training under coach Matt-Turner.
Current training squad
Jason Dissanayake, Dhanushka Ranjan, Dhanush Dayan, Vishwamithra Jayasinghe, Thilina Wijesinghe (Kandy SC), Dulaj Perera, Hirantha Perera, Kevin Dixon, Nishon Perera (Havelock SC), Kavindu Perera, Tharinda Ratwatte, Sashan Mohamed, Rehan Silva (CR&FC), Chamara Dabare & Reeza Raffaideen (played for Police SC last year), Dinusha Chathuranga, Saliya Handapangoda, Buddima Piyarathne, Omalka Gunarathne (Navy SC)
