Sri Lanka is hopeful that ace spinner Wanindu Hasaranga will be able to participate in the forthcoming ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.
Wanindu Hasaranga is still battling the groin injury he sustained during the Lankan Premier League finals last month, and the 26-year-old missed Sri Lanka’s recent Asia Cup campaign in which they finished second.
While Sri Lanka is aware that time is running out for Hasaranga to prove his fitness prior to their World Cup opener on October 7 against South Africa in Delhi, the team is still investigating every option to enable the right-armer to participate in the 50-over competition.
“We are consulting foreign doctors to see whether he needs surgery or not. If he does, he will be out for at least three months. At the moment, the situation is not that great and it’s highly unlikely if he can play the World Cup,” Sri Lanka medical panel head Arjuna de Silva told The Sunday Times newspaper in Sri Lanka.
“Since he is a key weapon in our attack, we are looking at other options to see how best we can get his services at least for important games. All that depends on the opinions of the consultant to whom we are trying to show his reports.”
Given his ability to perform well on the biggest stage, the team’s bowling stocks would be severely depleted if Hasaranga were to miss the entire World Cup.
Hasaranga was the leading wicket-taker in the two most recent editions of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, as well as in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe earlier this year.
Sri Lanka is one of only two countries that have not yet named their World Cup squad, with the Asian side and Bangladesh having until September 28 to submit their final group of 15 players to the ICC.
