T20 World Cup 2022: Pramod Madushan ruled out of Netherlands' fixture; Sri Lanka to add more fast bowlers to reserves

Sri Lanka have been hit hard with injuries and their pace attack which looked bright ahead of the start of the T20 World Cup 2022 looks quite depleted now. Dilshan Madushanka who was impressive in the Asia Cup 2022, was the first to be ruled out of the T20 World Cup 2022 due to a quadriceps tear. He was replaced by Binura Fernando in the squad and it did not stop there.  

Dushmantha Chameera pulled his calf during the First Round fixture against the UAE and has been ruled out of the tournament in yet another major blow to Sri Lanka. To add to the woes, Pramod Madushan has also joined the injury list now after a hamstring complaint in the previous game and is set to miss the upcoming fixture against the Netherlands.  

"But clinically, he's (Madushan) not too bad. He could be okay in about a week," Arjuna de Silva, head of SLC's medical advisory committee, said as reported by ESPNcricinfo. 

Three pacers to join Sri Lanka's standby list for the T20 World Cup 2022

Meanwhile, three pacers are in line to join the Sri Lankan squad in Australia as cover for the injured bowlers. Dasun Shanaka revealed the names that are set to arrive and felt that the main fast bowlers will not have a heavy workload during the practice sessions to cut down injury risks.  

"Kasun Rajitha, Asitha Fernando, Matheesha Pathirana. So I don't know the exact date when they will arrive. We are okay for the next game but as the tournament progresses we need to have a few more bowlers. At practices, we don't want to waste away our main fast bowlers. It's not finalised yet. Selectors are deciding, I think, definitely, two or three fast bowlers will be here soon,” Shanaka was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.  

Lahiru Kumara and Binura Fernando are the two pacers that are expected to be available for the Netherlands game while Chamika Karunaratne will be the third seamer in the side. Sri Lanka will need to win their final game against the Netherlands on October 20 to qualify for the Super 12 stage.