Sri Lanka will go into their three-Test series without key fast bowler Dilhara Fernando and wicket-keeper Romesh Kaluwitharana after the pair sustained injuries during the recent tournament in Sharjah.
Manager Jayasekera said that Fernando would be out till the end of November which eventually rules him out of the entire three Tests against the West Indies. He said that a bone scan revealed that Fernando had a stress fracture in his back.
"It is unfortunate, but Dilhara will not be able to bowl till the end of November even at practice," said Jayasekera. He said Kaluwitharana would be out for at least six weeks.
There are also some concerns over the fitness of champion off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, who has been suffering from a sore shoulder, which prompted the management to rest him in Sri Lanka's last group game in Sharjah.
Muralitharan is, however, expected to play in the first Test in Galle, which starts on 13 November.
During the official launch of the West Indies tour of Sri Lanka, BCCSL interim committee chairman Vijay Malalasekera said there had been a lot of negative reports going in the media about the West Indies tour to Sri Lanka, and said that it was time to stop talking of events off the field and concentrate on the cricket.
West Indies team manager Ricky Skerritt said that initially they had certain reservations on the tour after the September 11 terrorist attack on the USA, which created safety fears about all international travel.
He, however, was reassured about player safety after a scouting mission to Sri Lanka a few weeks before the teams arrival in Sri Lanka.
Malalasekera said all doubts were cleared when he met the West Indies Cricket Board president Wes Hall at the ICC meeting at Kuala Lumpur and assured him of the team's security.
Skerritt said that injured batsman Wavell Hinds would be joining the team this morning after undergoing surgery to his nose, which was hit by a ball while playing in a charity match in Jamaica.
The West Indies manager and captain Carl Hooper stayed back in Colombo for the press conference, which was also attended by Sri Lanka captain Sanath Jayasuriya, and Cricket Board CEO Anura Tennekoon.
The rest of the West Indies team left for Matara yesterday morning to begin a 3-day practice match against a Sri Lanka 'A' side on Thursday.
Skerritt said the team, which was confined to indoors (indoor nets and swimming pool) in Colombo because of the bad weather, had a good work out at Matara on Tuesday.
© CricInfo
| Players/Umpires | Dilhara Fernando, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Muttiah Muralitharan. |
| Tours | West Indies in Sri Lanka |
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