Sri Lanka have been hit by a spate of injuries and an illness ahead of the second Test against West Indies, in North Sound, a game they must win to take something away from the series after suffering an innings defeat in the first.
The injuries have forced the team management to pick from a squad of 13, rather than the 17 they took on tour. The seam-bowling department has been especially hard hit, with Lahiru Kumara and Vishwa Fernando both going down with injuries.
The most serious injury, however, seems to be that of opener Pathum Nissanka, who left the squad on June 30 to undergo surgery on an injured wrist in the United Kingdom. Lahiru Udara will take Nissanka's place at the top of the order for the second Test. Nissanka's surgery casts a cloud over his Lanka Premier League participation as well.
Vishwa, meanwhile, has not sufficiently recovered from back and side pain to become available for the second Test. And Sri Lanka's quickest bowler in the squad, Kumara, remains unavailable after having walked off the field with a hamstring complaint (a recurring injury) having delivered just one over in the previous Test.
These injuries, plus Kasun Rajitha's modest performance in the first Test, have paved the way for seamer Isitha Wijesundara's Test debut.
In addition, offspin-bowling allrounder Ramesh Mendis has contracted a bacterial infection on tour. As such, he is also unavailable for selection. Prabath Jayasuriya - Sri Lanka's top specialist spinner over the last three years - will enter the XI.
