Dhammika Prasad likely to be ruled out of remainder of England Test series

[[JUGRAJ SINGH]]

Sri Lanka are likely to lose out on the services of Dhammika Prasad, their lead pacer, for the rest of the England Test series with the 32-year-old set to fly back home for further treatment on his injured shoulder. Prasad sustained a shoulder strain during Sri Lanka's tour game against Essex, forcing him out of the ongoing first Test of the tour at Headingley, Leeds.

"After yesterday's fitness test, the management took a decision that he would be sent back for further treatment," Charith Senanayake, Sri Lanka's team manager, said on Thursday (May 19). "It's the prevailing injury. He was to do another test today, but yesterday we tested him at training and he still couldn't bowl."

Prasad, who was ruled out of the first two Tests of the series, is now unlikely to feature in the third and final Test at Lord's with the exact nature of his injury remaining unknown. Should he be ruled out of the entirety of the series, the team management will look at one of Vishwa Fernando or Kasun Rajitha as a fast-bowling replacement for Prasad.

Ever since he took a five-fer in Sri Lanka's historic series-clinching win in Leeds in 2014, Prasad has been handed responsibility of leading a transitory team's bowling attack. He claimed 41 Test wickets in 2015 at an average of 24.95, firmly establishing himself in the Sri Lankan setup.