Image Credit- AFP
Asitha Fernando has been called up to the Sri Lankan
squad to replace Dushmantha Chameera, who will miss the team’s second ODI
against Afghanistan.
Midway through his eighth over in the opening ODI,
Chameera hobbled off as Sri Lanka won by 42 runs. After taking two wickets at
that point, he was unable to continue. It is now established that he had a left
quadriceps injury.
It is known that the ailment is unrelated to any of
his other injuries. He had surgery for an ankle issue earlier in the year and
missed a significant portion of Sri Lanka’s matches due to a torn pectoral
muscle last year.
It’s unclear how serious the injury is right now.
After Friday’s match, the 32-year-old fast bowler had a scan, the results of
which have been sent to a specialist in the UK for consultation.
“He’s feeling better now, but we won’t know for
sure the exact nature of his injury until we hear back from the
specialist,” Sri Lanka’s team manager Mahinda Halangoda told
Fernando, his replacement in the squad, last played an
ODI in November 2022, also against Afghanistan. He has played five ODIs in all,
picking up the solitary wicket.
However, he has impressed in Tests, most recently
against Afghanistan when he picked up six wickets in the match to help Sri
Lanka on their way to victory.