Sri Lanka receive massive blow, Hasaranga ruled out of ODI series against India due to injury

Colombo [Sri Lanka], August 4 (ANI): Sri Lanka's star spinner Wanindu Hasaranga has been ruled out of the remaining two ODIs against India after sustaining an injury to his left hamstring. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) released an official statement to confirm Hasaranga being ruled out of the remainder of the series and named spinner Jeffrey Vandersay as his replacement.

"Wanindu Hasaranga will miss the remainder of the ODI series, as the player has suffered an injury to his left hamstring. He experienced pain in his left hamstring while delivering the last ball of his 10th over during the first ODI. An MRI performed on the player, following this, confirmed the injury. Jeffrey Vandersay comes into the squad in place of Hasaranga," SLC said in a statement.

Hasaranga was one of the standout performers for the hosts in the first ODI. He picked three scalps, including stalwart batter Virat Kohl and KL Rahul's wicket, and gave away 58 runs in his 10-over spell.

He went on to weave magic with his spin by removing Kuldeep Yadav to set up a thrilling finale to the game, which ended in a draw.

The 27-year-old spinner has suffered from a fair share of injuries in 2024. Three months ago, Hasaranga, who was set to feature for Sunrisers Hyderabad, was ruled out of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 due to chronic heel pain in his left foot. He travelled to Dubai to consult with a specialist for his injury.

Hasaranga recovered from his injury and went on to lead Sri Lanka in the T20 World Cup. Under his captaincy, the Asian side failed to go past the group stage.

They lost to South Africa and Bangladesh in the group stage and could only register one win against the Netherlands. Their game against Nepal was washed out due to rain. With just three points, Sri Lanka finished in the third spot in Group D.

After the conclusion of the tournament, he stepped down from the captaincy. The Sri Lankan spinner, who was appointed as the T20I captain last year, led the team in 10 matches.

Sri Lanka will miss the presence of Hasaranga in the second ODI against India on Sunday. (ANI)