SL vs IND 2024: Why is Wanindu Hasaranga not playing second ODI?

Star Sri Lankan all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga has been ruled out of the remainder of the India series. The 27-year-old is out with a hamstring injury, and Jeffrey Vandersay replaced him in the playing XI for the second ODI in Colombo. Mohamed Shiraz, who made his debut in the first ODI of the series, has been dropped from the playing XI as well. Kamindu Mendis replaced him in the side.

Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat first. The surface in the first ODI got slower towards the fag end, which is arguably why captain Charith Asalanka wanted to bat first. During the toss, he revealed that the surface looked similar to the one that was used in the first ODI, and they would bat first to take advantage of that.

“We will bat first. Pitch looks same as the other day. Not much changes. I want to do the same thing as last game. Wanindu Hasaranga and Mohamed Shiraz out, Kamindu Mendis and Jeffrey Vandersay come in. Last game was definitely a lift, and now we need that one win,” Asalanka said after winning the toss.

India captain Rohit Sharma wasn’t bothered with the fact of bowling first, once again. He expects the players to play freely and make the most of the opportunity as India is looking to fine-tune the squad for the upcoming Champions Trophy. He added that the players need to adapt well to the situation in order to provide a favourable result and expect to put up a better fight in the second ODI.

“It's okay (on having to chase again), we know what to expect when we chase. It has to be. You cannot always go and play with the same mindset and same way. You got to adapt to the conditions and then play freely. That's the most important thing (to play with freedom) we want to do as a team. Same XI. Not really worried we didn't pull off the last game. Both teams played well, the result not going in favour was fair for that game,” Rohit said.

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Here are the playing XIs for SL vs IND, 2nd ODI at Colombo:

Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Avishka Fernando, Kusal Mendis (wk), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka (c), Kamindu Mendis, Janith Liyanage, Dunith Wellalage, Akila Dananjaya, Asitha Fernando, Jeffrey Vandersay

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj