Sri Lanka has lost all-rounder Sashini Gimhani for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 in England with a lower back injury sustained in training, Sri Lanka Cricket announced.
Gimhani, who was part of the original 15-member squad named on May 29 for the tournament under captain Chamari Athapaththu, was unable to travel with the team to England on June 2 because of the injury. The Cricket Selection Panel has named right-arm medium-fast bowler Chethana Vimukthi as her replacement in the squad, Newswire reported.
Vimukthi’s call-up reshapes the bowling balance ahead of the tournament. Gimhani had been picked as a seam-bowling all-rounder option in a squad that already features Athapaththu’s spin-bowling all-rounder profile alongside frontline pacers and the leg-spin of Inoka Ranaweera. Vimukthi, who has been on the fringe of the senior side through the 2025-26 home season, is a like-for-like medium-fast replacement and gives head coach Hashan Tillakaratne another seam option in English conditions.
Sri Lanka are scheduled to begin their campaign at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in England later this month, following a build-up that included the 25-run win over Bangladesh in Sylhet in May and the 2-0 T20I series sweep over Bangladesh on April 30 that confirmed their tournament form.
The tournament itself carries the largest prize money pool ever announced for an ICC Women’s World Cup, raising the financial stakes for Athapaththu’s group. Sri Lanka have not progressed beyond the group stage in recent T20 World Cup editions but enter the 2026 tournament with a top-six ranking and a settled senior core.
Source: Newswire.
