Karunaratne replaces injured Lanka captain Shanaka

FE Team | Published: October 15, 2023 23:33:40

LUCKNOW, India, Oct 15 (AP): Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka is out of the Cricket World Cup because of a thigh injury and has been replaced in the squad by Chamika Karunaratne.
Shanaka sustained the injury during Sri Lanka's six-wicket loss against Pakistan on Tuesday.
The ICC said Saturday that Shanaka's injury "needs three weeks to recover" and that the technical committee approved Karunaratne, also an all-rounder, as his replacement.
In the absence of Shanaka, vice-captain Kusal Mendis will lead the side. He led Sri Lanka in one of the two warm-up games when Shanaka was rested.
Karunaratne is already with the Sri Lanka squad in India as a traveling reserve and will be available for selection in Sri Lanka's next game against Australia on Monday.
Sri Lanka also lost its opener against South Africa by 102 runs.