Asela Gunaratne ruled out of Nidahas Trophy

Asela Gunaratne has suffered yet another setback, with a rotator cuff injury ruling him out of the Nidahas Trophy.

The triangular Twenty20 International tournament involves Bangladesh and India and will be played from 6 March to 18 March to mark the 70th anniversary of Sri Lanka’s independence.

Gunaratne, the 32-year-old batting all-rounder, sustained the injury during a team fielding session during the recent tour of Bangladesh, but played in all of Sri Lanka’s fixtures in the triangular one-day international series, also involving Zimbabwe.

The final of the tournament, which Sri Lanka won, was played on January 27, and upon returning home, he played a first-class match for Sri Lanka Army against Colombo Cricket Club in early February.

But Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) confirmed on Thursday, 22 February, that the injury was more serious than initially thought.

“The status of his injury is diagnosed as a Grade II rotator cuff strain with contusion,” SLC announced, adding that Gunaratne would undergo rehabilitation work at the Board’s High Performance Center.

Gunaratne, who has played six Tests, 29 ODIs and 12 T20Is since making his international debut in a T20I against India in Visakhapatnam in February 2016, has been out of action a fair bit in recent times.

When India toured Sri Lanka in July-August 2017, he put down a catch off Shikhar Dhawan on the first morning of the first Test in Galle. In the process, he broke his left thumb in two places and was sidelined for the rest of the tour as well as Sri Lanka’s tour of the UAE and Pakistan later in the year.

Meanwhile, Shehan Madushanka, the 22-year-old paceman who created a strong impression in his limited appearances in Bangladesh before hobbling off the field with a hamstring injury in the last T20I, has also been undergoing rehabilitation work at the High Performance Center.