Srilankan batsman Dinesh Chandimal has been ruled out of the five match ODI series against India after he sustained a hairline fracture while batting against Hardik Pandya in the third ODI. This is Chandimal’s second finger injury in the past year – he had missed Sri Lanka’s tour of Zimbabwe in October and November due to a more serious break.
The 27-year-old Balapitiya-born batsmen required a medical attention when a ball hit his thumb. Hestruggled after that and was eventually dismissed for 36 runs.
Chandimal, who was not the part of limited-overs squad was called in as the replacement alongside Lahiru Thirimanne, who returned to the Sri Lankan national fold after one year. The replacements were announced after skipper Upul Tharanga was banned for slow over rate as Gunathilaka was marred by injury.
“SLC confirms that Test captain Dinesh Chandimal will be out of action for the rest of the series after sustaining a hairline fracture to his right thumb. We will have a better idea of timeline of his recovery after consulting a specialist in Colombo tomorrow,” a media release from SLC said.
Chandimal is the second batsman to pick up an on-field injury during the ODIs, with Danushka Gunathilaka already having been ruled out of the third one-dayer with a shoulder strain.