Sri Lanka will be sending middle order batsman Kithuruwan Vithanage and spinner Tharindu Kaushal as cover for the injured players ahead of the team's final round robin World Cup game against Scotland, scheduled to be played on March 11.
Factbox on World Cup match between New Zealand and Sri Lanka at Hagley Oval.
Indian batsman Ajinkya Rahane jumped three places to enter the top-10 in batsman's list while Ravichandran Ashwin maintained his pole position among all-rounders in the latest Test rankings released by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Kusal Mendis remained unbeaten on 166 and combined in a fourth-wicket partnership of 196 with Asela Gunaratne to put Sri Lanka on course for a big first innings total against Bangladesh on the first day of the opening Test at Galle on Tuesday.
With Pakistan chasing 136 for victory, the 39-year-old left arm spinner showed his class with a match-winning six for 43 in the second innings for a match haul of 11 wickets.
Sri Lanka has named its 15-member squad for the five-match ODI series against India next month, with notable omissions being former T20 captain Dinesh Chandimal and Lahiru Thirimanne.
Galle has built a reputation as a spinners' paradise but Australia captain Steve Smith hopes there will be substantial reverse swing at the venue as his top-ranked team bid for a series-levelling win against Sri Lanka in the second test. Sri Lanka inflicted a 106-run defeat on the touring side at Pallekele last week in the opening match of the three-test series with the spinners taking 18 out of 20 Australian wickets to fall.
Rangana Herath picked four wickets in the second innings to spin Sri Lanka to a 106 win over Australia in the first Test in Pallekele on Saturday.
Herath added three wickets to his previous day's removal of opener Kraigg Brathwaite (34) after taking six wickets in the first innings. He finished with match figures of 10-147.
Virat Kohli is the lone Indian batsman to be figuring in the top-10 in the ICC Test batsmen rankings.
Cheteshwar Pujara's innings is the highest by a subcontinent batsman and third highest by any visiting batsman on the opening day of a Test in Australia, reveals Rajneesh Gupta.
Lost in transition, defending champions Sri Lanka will look to come out of the rut and start well against a spirited Afghanistan in their World Twenty20 Super 10 opener at Eden Gardens on Thursday. The defending champions, who were also runners-up in 2009 and 2012, have managed to win only four of their 14 matches since they beat India to win the 2014 edition in Mirpur. They are in the middle of a transition phase after Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene's exit. The build-up to the tournament was also forgettable with series defeats in New Zealand and India followed by an early ouster in Asia Cup. To add to the misery, their 2014 WT20 winning skipper Lasith Malinga has stepped down as leader of the team, following concern over his slow recovery from a knee injury. Now Test and ODI skipper Angelo Mathews' task is cutout. Having joined the squad on Tuesday, Malinga is a doubtful starter for the match. His presence in the team would impact the team a lot.
The Asia Cup to be played in Bangladesh from February 24, will be played in the T20 format for the first time in the tournament's history. The tournament which precedes the vital World T20 to be held in in India in March, has a rich history with India and Sri Lanka winning it five times each. Pakistan have been victorious on two occasions while Bangladesh's best finish has been their runner-up performance in the 2012 edition. Team India will be led by MS Dhoni and the tournament will also see Virat Kohli returning after taking a break from the recently concluded three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka. Dhoni will be chasing history to become the most successful skipper in the tournament history. The Indian skipper and former Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga have both recorded same number of nine victories and four defeats in the Asia Cup All the matches will be played at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Mirpur. The qualifying rounds involving Afghanistan, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and Oman has begun from Friday.
Craig Ervine hit an unbeaten 151 for his highest score as Zimbabwe recovered from a shaky start to reach 344 for eight at stumps against hosts Sri Lanka on the opening day of the one-off Test at R. Premadasa Stadium.
The 22-year-old, who has a distinctive high-knee run-up, can continue bowling off-breaks, the governing body said in a statement.
In the first Test in Kolkata, Herath bowled only eight overs in seaming conditions, but was required to send down 39 overs in the only innings that India batted in Nagpur, after which he complained of back pain.
Sri Lanka off-spinner Tharindu Kaushal has been reported for a suspect bowling action during the third Test against India, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Wednesday.
South Africa's spin frailties were laid bare once again as the tourists collapsed for 124 to concede a first innings lead of 214 runs at Colombo's Sinhalese Sports Club Ground.
Sri Lanka ended Zimbabwe's day-long resistance seven overs from the end of play to grab victory by 225 runs on the final day of the first Test at the Harare Sports Club on Wednesday. Zimbabwe were bowled for 186 runs in their second innings within sight of what would have been a morale boosting draw. Sri Lanka's Dilruwan Perera and stand-in skipper Rangana Herath took three wickets each with Perera bowling out tailender Chris Mpofu in the 91st over of Zimbabwe's second innings to clinch victory despite a gallant knock by captain Graeme Cremer, who followed up a first innings century with a stubborn 43.
Angelo Mathews was replaced Lasith Malinga as captain of the Sri Lankan cricket team for the International Cricket Council World Twenty20.
Ashwin moves into top-10, Dhawan in career-high 32nd spot in the latest ICC Test rankings
Rangana Herath picked up seven wickets in a sublime display of left-arm spin bowling to power Sri Lanka to a spectacular comeback win by 63 runs against India on the fourth day of the opening test at Galle on Saturday.
Stylish Indian opener Rohit Sharma, who couldn't make it to the Playing XI for the first Test -- he was forced to miss the opening Test due to viral fever -- was seen having an enjoyable time with team-mates while having an intense session of FIFA video games.
Sikandar Raza closed in on his maiden hundred and put Zimbabwe in sight of a first Test victory against Sri Lanka on the third day of their only match at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday.
Former England spinner Graeme Swann wants left-arm spinner Jack Leach to bowl a "boring" line and length to be successful in four-Test series against Virat Kohli's men.
Chasing an improbable target of 490 to level the series, the tourists finished day three on 139-5, their highest total in the spin-dominated series, at Colombo's Sinhalese Sports Club Ground.
Sri Lanka batsman Dinesh Chandimal has been ruled out of the rest of the World Cup due to a hamstring injury and replaced in the squad by Kusal Perera.
Photos from Day 3 of the third Test played between India and Sri Lanka in Colombo on Sunday
India would look to continue their ruthless streak
Sri Lanka all-rounder and former skipper Angelo Mathews has been ruled out of the first Test against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi next week with a calf injury, but the uncapped Sadeera Samarawickrama, Roshen Silva and Lahiru Gamage are in the squad.
Opener Dimuth Karunaratne missed out on a maiden double hundred but his 238-run stand with fellow centurion Dinesh Chandimal set up Sri Lanka's first-innings total of 484 on day two against West Indies in the opening test at Galle on Thursday.
'As a spinner, some will go your way some days and some won't, that is cricket. I don't look too much into that. I want to contribute with bat, ball and in the field. When my opportunities come I want to make sure I take them.'
England beat Sri Lanka by 211 runs inside four days in the first Test to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series at the Galle International Stadium on Friday.
In the batsmen's rankings, Cheteshwar Pujara is the top-ranked Indian at the fourth position while opener Shikhar Dhawan climbed 21 places to be ranked 39th.
Rajneesh Gupta presents the numbers from Day 3 of the first Test.
Muttiah Muralitharan on Thursday blamed non-performing youngsters and an unsettled combination for Sri Lankan cricket team's woes in recent times.
Sri Lanka beat Australia by 229 runs on day three of the second Test to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series at Galle on Saturday.
Sri Lanka's openers shared a fluent century stand to lead their side to 162 for one in reply to England's 416 on the second day of the third and final Test at Lord's on Friday.
Dinesh Chandimal completed a fine century as Sri Lanka continued to hold up England's bid to clinch the series by moving on to 403 for six at lunch on the fourth day of the second test in Durham on Monday. The touring side, crushed in the opening test and bowled out for 101 in the first innings, are six runs ahead in the match after losing only one wicket in the morning session.
Keshav Maharaj claimed a career-best eight for 116 to prevent Sri Lanka from making the most of a strong start and limiting them to 277 for nine on the opening day of the second and final Test on Friday.
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