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Double trouble for the Sri Lanka National Cricket Team as two of their star batters are injured ahead of the two-match Test series against the India National Cricket Team. Two experienced batters, Kusal Mendis and Pathum Nissanka, both are currently recovering from injuries.
Kusal Mendis was expected to be named in the original Test team for the upcoming Tests, starting on August 15, but was under uncertainty because of injury. The keeper-batter is currently under a rehabilitation programme to cure the injury he suffered during a Lanka Premier League 2026 match (LPL 2026).
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India handed boost as Pathum Nissanka misses opener, Kusal Mendis out for series
As he was not fully fit to feature in a top-end match a day ago, it was reported that the keeper-batter could miss the first Test of the upcoming India vs Sri Lanka series. On August 7, it was reported that Kusal Mendis had been ruled out of the entire series due to the injury setback, which is considered a major blow for the home team.
Additionally, Pathum Nissanka is uncertain to face India. As of now, he is reportedly ruled out of the first Test and remains uncertain for the second and final match of the contest.
Nibraz Ramzan, a Sri Lankan sports journalist, on Friday informed through a ‘X’ post, “Kusal Mendis ruled out of the test series against India due to an injury, and it is confirmed that Pathum Nissanka is out of the selection for the first test also due to an injury.”
Breaking: Kusal Mendis ruled out of the test series against India due to an injury, and it is confirmed that Pathum Nissanka is out of the selection for the first test also due to an injury. #slvind pic.twitter.com/bEQ8IvgiYl
— Nibraz Ramzan (@nibraz88cricket) August 7, 2026
Kusal Mendis is dealing with a hamstring injury
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) in their previous media release informed that Kusal Mendis suffered a right hamstring injury while playing for the Colombo Kaps against the Kandy Royals on 19 July at the SSC, Colombo, for a LPL 2026 fixture. He is yet to recover from the hamstring injury.
It was previously assumed that the keeper-batter would be available for the series, at least for the second match against India. The present situation is completely different. The batter, who has a century against the Men in Blue in the format, has been ruled out entirely from the upcoming two Tests.
Pathum Nissanka had a wrist injury
In the first week of July, it was reported that the Sri Lankan top-order batter had to undergo a wrist injury to regain his match fitness. Because of the persistent wrist issue, his previous international outings were also dented brutally. For the same reasons, he missed the second Test match against West Indies as well.
It was previously reported that the India vs Sri Lanka series would be the stage for the batter to make a comeback after the wrist surgery. If the current reports are to be believed, then he could feature only in the second Test in Colombo.
