Following a string of injuries to key players, Sri Lanka drafted wicketkeeper-batsman Niroshan Dickwella and fast bowlers Asitha Fernando and Matheesha Pathiran to their T20 World Cup squad as backups in Australia on Wednesday.
The three have been called up in case they need to take the place of members of their starting lineup in the event of injury to the players already present in the main squad. Along with the players, Tim McCaskill, director of Sri Lanka Cricket's high-performance facility, will also accompany the three players to Australia.
The choice was made a day after left-arm seamer Binura Fernando, who had replaced Dilshan Madushanka in the team, injured his hamstring during Sri Lanka's defeat to Australia.
Prior to the competition, they had lost left-arm quick Madushanka to a quad injury while pacer Dushmanta Chameera was ruled out after sustaining a grade-two tear in the calf of his left foot during the group stage encounter against UAE on October 18.
Pramod Madushan, the left-arm pacer, also sustained an injury and has been sidelined since the game against the UAE, though he has not yet been officially ruled out.
Danushka Gunathilaka's hamstring injury during the group stage dealt them a blow in the batting department. Ashen Bandara was called up as his replacement and was forced to replace the rested Pathum Nissanka in Sri Lanka's first Super 12 match against Ireland.
The trio will be located in Melbourne and train there under McCaskill's direction, they won't necessarily join the team unless a situation arises for them to join the team. They will fly to Australia on Wednesday night according to Sri Lanka cricket.
Sri Lanka has played two matches so far, winning one against Ireland and losing the other to Australia. They face New Zealand in their third Super-12 match on Saturday at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
( With inputs from ANI )
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