Sri Lanka suffered a major injury blow just a day ahead of the Asia Cup 2023 Final against India their star spinner Maheesh Theekshana has been ruled out of the title clash due to a hamstring issue.
Issuing a statement on X (formerly Twitter), the Sri Lanka Cricket board (SLC) confirmed that Theekshana underwent scan which confirmed an injury after he strained hamstring during their thrilling win over Pakistan in a Super 4 clash earlier this week.
“Maheesh Theekshana, who strained his right hamstring during the game against Pakistan, will not be available for the finals,” the post read.
“A scan was done and confirmed the muscle injury,” it added.
Meanwhile, the SLC selectors have named 27-year-old off-spinner Sahan Arachchige as a replacement for injured Theekshana.
Notably, Acrachchige made his ODI debut during the World Cup qualifiers earlier this year in Zimbabwe. He could however, only manage just one wicket from two games and also slammed a half-century against the Netherlands.
“Sri Lanka Cricket Selectors have brought in Sahan Arachchige into the squad in place of Theekshana. Theekshana will return to the High Performance Center to commence rehabilitation work,” SLC said.
Theekshana was a vital cog in Sri Lanka squad, helping his side make to the final after picking eight wickets from five games at an average of 29.12.
On the other hand, India have also dealing with an injury concern as Axar Patel is most likely to miss the final after picking up several injuries during their last Super 4 game against Bangladesh on Friday.
The Indian team management have called up all-rounder Washington Sundar, who last played an ODI in January, as an injury cover for Axar for the final against Sri Lanka.