Spinner Mahesh Thekshana and batsman Kusal Mendis have been ruled out of the T20I series against India due to hamstring injuries. Also, pacer Shiran Fernando has been ruled out of the T20Is due to a gluten injury.
The Sri Lanka Cricket Board announced that some members of the Test team in the form of Dhananjaya de Silva and Niroshan Dickwella will join the T20I squad for the remaining two T20Is in Dharamsala.
Kusal Mendis was the Player of the Match in the last T20I against Australia
Left-arm pacer Binura Fernando also recovered from Covid-19, bowling an impressive 2/12(4) in the first T20I match against Australia, but soon after, he tested positive for Covid-19 Gone. But now he will be available for selection in the remaining two matches on Saturday and Sunday.
All-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga was also ruled out of the T20I series as he was tested positive for Covid-19.
Kusal Mendis, who was the player of the match in the only win against Australia last week, will be running against time to be fit for the first Test in Mohali, starting March 4.
Mendis lost his place in the Test team after scoring 4 consecutive ducks in Tests against South Africa and England. However, with decent returns in domestic first-class cricket, he earned his place back.
Both the Test series will also be part of the World Test Championship. In this WTC cycle, Sri Lanka played just one series as they beat West Indies in a 2-match series at home last year, so they top the table, but they have had some tough fixtures.
In the remaining matches, they will host Pakistan and Sri Lanka while they tour New Zealand and Bangladesh next season.
In the first match of the T20I series, they lost a comprehensive 62 runs. It was their 8th loss in the shortest format in the last 10 matches. Sri Lanka suffered a 1-4 loss in the five-match series against Australia that ended last week.