Kusal Perera Ruled Out of the Two-Match T20 Series; Kusal Mendis Retained as Replacement

Sri Lanka has suffered another injury blow, as their attacking left-handed opener Kusal Perera has been ruled out of the two-match T20-series against Bangladesh due to a side strain.

Perera played in the initial part of the tri-series in Bangladesh which also included Zimbabwe and was ruled out of the ODI series with a side strain but was named in the T20 squad.

However, the 27-year old opener didn’t travel to Bangladesh with the rest of the T20 squad on Monday.

Sri Lanka has recalled top-order batsman Kusal Mendis, as his replacement for the upcoming two-match T20I series. Perera has pulled out of the series after following medical advice.

Perera has been struggling with injury in the past 12 months. He was out of action for six months after hurting his hamstring during the Champions Trophy in England in June.

He then returned to international cricket in the T20 series against India in India and finished with 100 runs in three innings including a top score of 77 in the second game in Indore.

His good form with the bat continued, as he scored 130 runs in three innings in the tri-series in Bangladesh with a top score of 80 before being ruled out of the series.

On the other, Mendis who was also making a comeback to the side after being dropped for the tour of India scored 271 runs at an average of 90 in the Test series against Bangladesh.

Perera has joined captain Angelo Mathews on the injury list. The Lankan all-rounder was ruled out of the series due to a hamstring injury after just one game of the tri-nation series.

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