Curated By: Amar Sunil Panicker
Last Updated: September 29, 2023, 17:31 IST
Guwahati [Gauhati], India
Kusal Perera was forced to walk off the field as he picked up an injury to his shoulder when batting against Bangladesh in the warm-up fixture. (Image: AFP)
The Sri Lankan keeper-batter walked off the field as he was struggling with a shoulder injury during the side’s warm-up game against Bangladesh in Guwhati.
Sri Lankan batter, Kusal Perera was forced to end his innings during the warm-up match between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. This is due to a shoulder injury that started bothering him during his innings. The batter had called for the physiotherapist in the 10th over of the game when he was opening the innings and had scored 34 off 24 runs.
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The batter has only featured in just 2 ODIs in 2023 before the warm-up fixture and looked to utilize the games in order to get himself back in form. He took part in the Super Four fixture in the Asia Cup 2023 against Pakistan where he scored a quick 17 runs off 8 deliveries and also took part in the finals where he was dismissed for a duck.
Kusal Perera coming off could likely be a precautionary measure taken for the batter as the team management did not want to risk him being sidelined for an extended period of time, thereby missing the World Cup.
Perera finished as the highest run-scorer for Sri Lanka in the 2019 ICC ODI Cricket World Cup with 273 runs in seven games with an average of 39.
Sri Lanka could be looking at his return as a crucial one with his experience in the previous World Cup and favourable sub-continental conditions as well as Sri Lanka look to mount a title charge.
Sri Lanka also managed to make an impressive victory against Pakistan to seal their spot in the finals of the Asia Cup as the side chased 252 runs. But the batting unit collapsed in dramatic fashion in the finals as the Sri Lankan side were dismissed for a mere 50 runs thereby giving India an easy Asia Cup win.
Sri Lanka’s squad is already marred with injuries with the likes of Wanindu Hasaranga and Dushmanatha Chameera missing out of the tournament due to injuries. The loss of their star bowlers will definitely handicap the side as the side led by Dasun Shanaka will hope to not have to deal with more injuries as they look to get ready for the highly anticipated 2023 ICC ODI World Cup.
Despite the side missing out on major stars, they still managed to put up a fight against Pakistan to seal their spot in the finals which shows their ability to fight back under pressure. New talents like Dunith Wellalage managed to impress with the chances he received against India especially where he managed to pick a five-wicket haul which included the wickets of Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya.