ODI World Cup 2023: Dasun Shanaka ruled out with injury, Kusal Mendis to lead Sri Lanka

In a shocking turn of events, Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka has been ruled out of the ongoing ODI World Cup 2023. Subsequently, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) have announced Kusal Mendis as the leader for the remainder of the tournament in his absence. Meanwhile, a replacement for the all-rounder has also been announced.

The Event Technical Committee of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 has approved Chamika Karunaratne as a replacement for Dasun Shanaka in the Sri Lankan squad.

Karunaratne, who has played 23 ODIs, was named as a replacement after Shanaka was ruled out due to a right thigh muscle injury sustained during Sri Lanka’s match against Pakistan on 10 October. The injury needs three weeks to recover.

It is worth mentioning that the replacement of a player requires the approval of the Event Technical Committee before the replacement player can be officially added to the squad.

The Event Technical Committee of the (name the ICC event) consists of Wasim Khan (ICC General Manager – Cricket & ETC Chair), Chris Tetley (ICC Head of Events), Hemang Amin (Acting CEO - BCCI), Gaurav Saxena (General Manager – Operations, BCCI), Russel Arnold (Independent Representative), Simon Doull (Independent Representative). 

Sri Lanka desperate for first victory in the tournament

Speaking of Sri Lanka's form in the tournament, they have played a couple of games thus far, and emerged as the losing side on both the occasions. Their first outing was against South Africa, where they succumbed to a record-breaking defeat off Temba Bavuma's men. In their next game against Pakistan at Hyderabad, they had to settle for a loss courtesy of a brilliant knock by Mohammad Rizwan.

Notably, the stand-in skipper Kusal Mendis scored two fiery knocks in both the games, as he made 76 off just 42 balls against the Proteas, followed by a 122 off 77 balls against the Men in Green. Although his knocks could not see the team through, his captaincy skills will be put to test when he wears the captain's hat for the rest of the tournament.