Sri Lanka opener Pathum Nissanka will miss the ODI Tri-Nation Series with Pakistan and England, having still not been cleared to return to competitive cricket. Lahiru Udara comes into the squad in his place, the Daily Mirror reported at 3.15 p.m. on Thursday.
Nissanka sustained a left hamstring injury during Sri Lanka’s recently concluded tour of England. His recovery “has not progressed to the point where he has been cleared to resume playing”, the report said.
This resolves a condition attached to his selection
Nissanka’s place was never confirmed. When Sri Lanka Cricket named the 16-member ODI squad on 4 October, he was included explicitly subject to medical clearance — the selectors said he would travel only if declared medically fit. Eleven days later, that clearance has not come.
The injury also cost him the T20I squad for the same tour, named on 2 October, where he was one of three players left out. He had been reported doubtful with a hamstring problem in late September, during the ODI series England won at the Oval.
The hamstring has now disrupted two consecutive assignments. Nissanka also withdrew from the 2026 Lanka Premier League with an injury in June, though neither that report nor Thursday’s connects the two.
Udara’s call-up reverses a selection
Lahiru Udara was in the 15-member T20I squad for this tour but was one of six players left out of the ODI squad on 4 October. He now returns to the one-day group as the direct replacement for the man whose fitness was in doubt.
Udara’s most recent notice in this archive came in the Lanka Premier League, where he made 132 for the Kandy Royals in July.
The timing is tight
The triangular runs 18 to 31 October, so the squad change lands three days before the first match. The tournament follows the three T20Is played on 9, 11 and 13 October, and precedes a two-Test series from 9 November. Every fixture on the tour is in Rawalpindi, Lahore or Islamabad.
Losing Nissanka removes Sri Lanka’s first-choice opener for a 50-over tournament against both Pakistan and England.
Not reported
The filing gives no recovery timeline, no indication of whether Nissanka remains available for the Test series starting 9 November, and no medical detail beyond the absence of clearance. It does not say whether the squad stays at 16 or who will partner Avishka Fernando at the top of the order. Sri Lanka Cricket is not quoted directly, and no team doctor or selector is named.
Ada Derana also reported the withdrawal, under the headline “Pathum Nissanka ruled out of Pakistan tri-series due to injury” (adaderana.lk/news/250026). That domain has been CloudFront-blocked from this host for 26 consecutive days and the article could not be read, so it is noted here rather than cited as a source. Checks across NewsFirst, Daily FT and Daily Mirror’s sports desk found no further verified filing; one aggregator carried the story, adding that Sri Lanka face Pakistan in the opening match.
