Hasaranga ruled out of T20 World Cup; Hemantha called up

Co-hosts Sri Lanka have suffered a body blow with wrist-spinning all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga ruled out of the remainder of the T20 World Cup. Fellow legspinner Dushan Hemantha has been approved by the ICC's technical committee as a replacement.

Hasaranga picked up a left hamstring injury during his side's opener against Ireland at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday (February 8). He went off the field after managing to get through his first over and despite his evident discomfort, returned to complete his four-over quota, finishing with returns of 3 for 25 as Sri Lanka pocketed a 20-run win.

Hasaranga's participation for the rest of the T20 World Cup was always in doubt though given how he struggled to get through his spell against Ireland. He has been a pivotal component in Sri Lanka's T20I setup and is the country's leading wicket-taker in the format with 154 wickets from 95 outings. He also topped the wicket-charts across the 2021 and 2022 T20 World Cups, with 16 and 15 scalps respectively.

Hemantha has played five ODIs and three T20Is for Sri Lanka, collectively accounting for six wickets across them. His most recent appearance in national colors came during the tour of Zimbabwe in September that preceded the Asia Cup. He returned 3 for 38 in the final game of the three-match series back then.