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Colombo Kaps captain Kusal Mendis has been ruled out of the rest of the ongoing Lanka Premier League 2026 (LPL 2026) after suffering a hamstring injury. It was a massive setback for the Sri Lanka National Cricket Team as they are set to host India in a crucial Test series next month.
The Sri Lankan white-ball captain’s injury has come at the worst possible time. Mendis is one of Sri Lanka's key players in all three formats of the game, and with the two-match Test series against India starting on August 15, his fitness has now become a major concern for the team. Amid this, Punjab Kings co-owner Preity Zinta reacts to student protests with call for dialogue.
Kusal Mendis ruled out of LPL ahead of India Test series
Kusal Mendis suffered a right hamstring injury during Colombo Kaps' six-wicket win over Kandy Royals in the ongoing Lanka Premier League 2026 (LPL 2026) on July 19 at the SSC Ground in Colombo. He injured his right hamstring while trying to complete a run during the LPL 2026 match.
After Colombo Kaps' dominant win over Kandy Royals, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) confirmed that Kusal Mendis has been ruled out of the remainder of the LPL 2026 tournament and will now return to the National High-Performance Center to begin his rehabilitation.
The SLC said in an official media release, “Mendis sustained a right hamstring injury while attempting a run during the Colombo Kandy Royals' match against the Kandy Royals on 19 July at the SSC, Colombo. Accordingly, he will return to the National High Performance Center to commence his rehabilitation program.”
Since Sri Lanka Cricket has not given a timeline of Mendis’ return, there is no clear answer on whether the white-ball captain will be fit in time for the Test series against India, where he is expected to play a key role with the bat and also keep wickets.
Kusal Mendis' sublime form across the formats
Well, Kusal Mendis was in excellent form. Mendis played a superb knock of 79 runs off just 53 balls during his team Colombo Kaps' first match of the LPL season. Before the LPL 2026, Mendis had also enjoyed a fantastic season in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) in 2026.
The star batter scored 550 runs in 11 innings at an outstanding strike rate of 168.19 and finished among the leading run scorers in the PSL 2026. Additionally, Mendis has made 408 runs in 14 T20I matches at a strike rate of 130.35 and scored 211 runs in just four ODIs, averaging 70.33 this year.
Now, Sri Lanka will be hoping that their in-form batter recovers as quickly as possible, as the India Test series is just a few weeks away, which is part of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27. Amid this, Abrar Ahmed's debut for Kavya Maran's team features crayz hat-trick escape.
India vs Sri Lanka Test series gets new title sponsor
On the other hand, InsuranceDekho has entered cricket sponsorship for the first time by partnering with Team India's upcoming tours of Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka. This is the company's first major move into Indian cricket.
The company will be the Co-Presenting Sponsor for the live broadcast of India's three-match T20I series against Zimbabwe. It has also become the title sponsor for India's Test series against Sri Lanka, which will now be played under the name InsuranceDekho Cup.
