Pathum Nissanka will miss Sri Lanka’s two-match Test series against Pakistan as he continues to recover from a left hamstring injury, and the Cricket Selection Committee has named Lahiru Udara as his replacement.
Udara is already in Pakistan as a member of Sri Lanka’s ODI squad, and will join the Test squad as Nissanka’s replacement, the Daily Mirror reported at 9.47 p.m. Colombo time on Monday.
This closes a question left open a fortnight ago
Nissanka was ruled out of the ongoing tri-nation ODI series on 15 October with the same injury, sustained on Sri Lanka’s tour of England. That report noted the filing gave no indication of whether he remained available for the Test series starting 9 November. Monday’s announcement answers it: he does not.
The hamstring has now cost Nissanka three consecutive assignments on the same tour — the T20I squad named on 2 October, the tri-series, and now both Tests. Udara has replaced him in each of the last two.
The series
The two Tests open in Rawalpindi on 9 November. Pakistan have named a 14-man squad under Babar Azam, leaving out Shan Masood and both frontline spinners.
What is not established
The Daily Mirror’s filing gives no recovery timeline and no medical detail beyond the continuing recovery. It does not say whether Nissanka will return home or stay with the touring party, who will open the batting in his place, or whether the Test squad remains at its announced size.
It does not say whether Udara stays in the ODI squad as well as joining the Test squad, or whether a separate replacement has been named for the ODI side. Sri Lanka Cricket is not quoted directly in the filing, and no selector or team doctor is named.
ESPNcricinfo’s most recent report on Nissanka concerns his earlier withdrawal from the ODI tri-series, which is a different decision and is not relied on here.
Update: a second newsroom confirms, and names the source of the announcement
Hiru News has independently reported the withdrawal and the call-up, filing at 10.21 p.m. on Monday, about half an hour after the Daily Mirror. Its account matches on every point: Nissanka loses the Pakistan Test series because the injury has persisted, and Udara has been called into the Sri Lanka squad in his place.
It adds one thing the earlier filing lacked. Hiru attributes the announcement to Sri Lanka Cricket itself, where the Daily Mirror credited the Cricket Selection Committee — so the decision is now traceable to the board rather than to the selectors alone. That partly closes the gap noted above, although Hiru likewise quotes no named official. Hiru does not repeat the detail that Udara is already in Pakistan with the ODI squad, and it adds no recovery timeline, so the remaining questions above stand.