Dimuth Karunaratne joins Sri Lanka’s injured list

ESPNcricinfo: Sri Lanka have suffered a serious blow to their squad for the forthcoming series against West Indies, with opener Dimuth Karunaratne out of at least part of the tour with injury.

An x-ray has confirmed the presence of a fracture in the index finger of Karunaratne’s left hand, which will rule him out for at least a few weeks. If the fracture requires surgery - and a decision on that front will be made over the next 24 hours - he will almost certainly be out until July. The three Tests against West Indies are scheduled for June.

“It’s a clean crack in the finger, and for now I have been told that I will probably be out for the West Indies tour,” Karunaratne told ESPNcricinfo. “But I have to see another surgeon before we know exactly what is happening.”

The injury had been sustained while Karunaratne was batting in the nets in the approach to Sri Lanka’s Super Provincial one-day tournament, the first round of which began on Wednesday.

The injury adds to an already heaving Sri Lanka injury roster. Bowlers Nuwan Pradeep, Dushmantha Chameera and Shehan Madushanka are already in serious doubt for the West Indies tour. Given Karunaratne’s success in 2017 - he was the fifth-highest Test run scorer in 2017, with 1031 runs - his potential absence is the biggest blow yet.

Malinga misses domestic one-dayer for IPL duties

ESPNcricinfo: Lasith Malinga has missed his first match of Sri Lanka’s Super Provincial one-day tournament, a day after Sri Lanka cricket reiterated that he must play domestic cricket to be considered for national selection. He had been named in Dambulla’s squad, but has not joined the side, and has instead remained with IPL franchise Mumbai Indians, for whom he is a bowling mentor.

Despite his absence from this match, Malinga hopes to be named in Sri Lanka’s squad for the ODI series against South Africa in July-August. “My work with the Mumbai Indians is due to end on about May 25 or 26,” he had said in a public video last week. “But after that I am fit enough to train, play whatever practice matches that are scheduled, and if I am good enough, the selectors can pick me.” Over the past few months, Malinga has expressed displeasure at being left out of Sri Lanka’s T20 side in particular by underlining his effectiveness in the format. He had played in SLC’s club T20 tournament in January-February, and finished joint-highest wicket-taker, with 17 dismissals. His most-recent limited-overs appearances for Sri Lanka came against India in September last year.