Ace Sri Lankan batsman injured ahead of Windies tour

Team Sri Lanka is gearing up for their next international assignment. They are scheduled to tour the Caribbean Islands to play against the hosts, Windies, on the tour. Ahead of the tour, the Sri Lankan side has received a major injury blow. One of the batting mainstays of the team, Dimuth Karunaratne, has injured himself during a practice session.

As per the recent reports in Cricbuzz, Dimuth Karunaratne fractured his left index figure during a training session on Tuesday. It is worth noting that Karunaratne is a Test specialist and only plays the longest format for Sri Lanka. Hence, the injury of this 30-year old in-form cricketer comes as a big blow for Sri Lanka.

Last year, Sri Lanka had a horrible run in international cricket. Despite the poor run of the team, Karunaratne had ended up scoring in excess of 1000 runs in the year. Also, when the team had beaten Pakistan in a Test series in the UAE, Karunaratne had won the Player of the Series.

Commenting on the unfortunate incident, Karunaratne was hit on his finger while batting against Lahiru Madushanka. The injury has raised questions over his availability for the first Test against Windies. Reportedly, the injury can potentially keep him out of action for four to six weeks. The first Test between Windies and Sri Lanka will commence on June 6 in Trinidad.

Not the only injury concern

It is worth noting that Dimuth Karunaratne is not the only player fighting injury concerns this season ahead of the Windies tour. Veteran all-rounder Angelo Mathews has been perennially struggling with his hamstring and has been out of action for most recent assignments.

Also, wicketkeeper Kusal Perera had injured his hamstring after the Nidahas Trophy. Pacers Nuwan Pradeep and Shehan Madushanka have niggles as well. They have hammy injury to take care of. Meanwhile, another senior member of the team and the in-form bowler, Suranga Lakmal, is out of action with a side strain.

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