Pradeep out of action for ‘one or two months’

After Asela Gunaratne, Nuwan Pradeep became the second Sri Lankan player to be ruled out of the ongoing Test series against India.

Pradeep, the only specialist paceman in the Lankan XI for the second Test currently underway, picked up a hamstring injury during Thursday’s (August 3) first day. He pulled up after four deliveries of his 18th over – the first with the second new ball – late on the first evening and left the field clutching the hamstring. Nic Pothas, the Sri Lankan interim coach, had said then that he had muscle stiffness, but it was officially made clear on Friday morning that it was indeed a hamstring injury and he would certainly play no part in the Indian first innings.

On Friday evening, Dimuth Karunaratne said Pradeep’s tryst with the Indians on this tour was over. “He’s out for one or two months,” revealed the Sri Lankan opening batsman.

Pradeep, 30, had toiled manfully on Thursday for figures of 17.4-2-63-0 before leaving the field. He had taken 6 for 132, his first five-for, in India’s first-innings tally of 600 in the first Test in Galle, which Sri Lanka lost by 304 runs last week.

Gunaratne had been ruled out of the tour on the first morning of the first Test after dropping Shikhar Dhawan in the slips and breaking the base of his left thumb in three places in the process. Gunaratne will be out of action for up to eight weeks.