The 2014 winners suffered a twin setback when Dushmantha Chameera and Danushka Gunathilaka were disqualified from the ICC Men's T20 World Cup on the eve of their last Group A match against Netherlands in what is a must-win match to advance to the Super 12 stage.
Due to a torn left calf muscle, Chameera, who had a brilliant 3/15 in a crushing 79-run win over UAE on Tuesday but did not complete his period, has been eliminated from the competition. Kasun Rajitha, the pacer who will take over for him, is now in Sri Lanka and will arrive in Australia as soon as feasible.
Due to an ankle injury, Chameera had previously been forced to miss Sri Lanka's successful 2022 Asia Cup campaign in the UAE. However, he was cleared to compete in the Men's T20 World Cup, where Sri Lanka was counting on him to produce important strikes in both the power-play and death overs.
Additionally, due to a left hamstring rupture, left-handed batter Gunathilaka, who did not participate in the match against the UAE, will be replaced by travelling reserve Ashen Bandara.
Both in the bowling and batting areas, the loss of Chameera and Gunathilaka is a devastating blow to Sri Lanka. Their bowlers had completely outplayed UAE in the game, knocking them for only 73 runs inside just 18 overs. But with a collapse from 117/3 to merely 152/8 at Kardinia Park, Sri Lanka's batting has become a source of concern.
With only two points, Sri Lanka is currently in third place in their group. They had to replace left-arm pacer Dilshan Madushanka after he tore his quadriceps just before their tournament opener against Namibia, which they lost by an unexpected 55 runs. Binura Fernando was named as Madushanka's replacement.
The ICC's Event Technical Committee also accepted the substitution of all-rounder Fahad Nawaz for injured right-arm spinner Zawar Farid in the UAE side's travelling reserve squad.
The Event Technical Committee of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022 consists of Wasim Khan, ICC General Manager - Cricket (Chair); Chris Tetley, ICC Head of Events; Peter Roach, Cricket Australia, Shane Doyle, Men's T20 World Cup Local Organising Committee; Shaun Pollock (Independent) and Ian Bishop (Independent).