Sri Lanka frontline seamer Dhammika Prasad has been ruled out of the first test against England, which will be held at the Headingley from May 19. Prasad injured his shoulders during a tour game against Essex last week.
The team physio thought it to be just a niggle, but Sri Lanka head coach Graham Ford has announced on Monday that the injury is pretty serious and needs attention. As a result, Prasad will not be able to emulate his heroics like he did two years ago at the same venue against England in the final test of the series.
"He's not available for the first Test and it's an ongoing assessment, on a daily basis. I am hoping that we can get him bowling again fairly soon," Ford was quoted as saying by Cricinfo.
"Then we'll have to build him up and get quite a number of overs bowled in the nets in order to prepare him for potentially the second and third Test. Prasad has had a few tests and the specialist came to see him today."
Prasad was instrumental in the historical victory over England two years ago. He took a five-for in the second innings to derail the England batting lineup. The right-arm seamer helped Sri Lanka win their first Test series in England against the host two years ago.
Sri Lanka are supposed to play three test matches against England starting May 19. They played two tour matches against Essex and Leicestershire ahead of the first test match in Yorkshire. The three-match test series will be followed by a five-match ODI series and a one-off T20 match.
