Sri Lanka's newly-appointed Test captain could miss the first two Tests against India after reportedly being admitted to a Galle hospital
Hospitalised Chandimal to miss first Test
Sri Lanka have been dealt a huge blow ahead of their three-match Test series against India with newly-appointed skipper Dinesh Chandimal ruled out of the first Test and possibly the second.
Chandimal will miss the opening Tests of the series – in Galle starting next Wednesday – after contracting pneumonia.
"We were actually only told late last night - the blood Test came a bit late. He's got pneumonia," said Sri Lanka team manager Asanka Gurusinha. "He was admitted to hospital this morning at 9am, and he's definitely out of the first Test.
"The doctors have advised us this morning to say: 'Finish the first Test' and they'll advise us afterwards. If they tell us he needs another week to recover, that's it. We can't do anything."
The 27-year-old, who was appointed Sri Lanka’s new Test captain after Angelo Mathews stood down last week, was absent from Thursday’s pre-series press conference. Limited-overs captain Upal Tharanga filled in for Chandimal.
Veteran left-arm spinner Rangana Herath is tipped to step up and lead the side as Chandimal recovers.
Herath has previously captained the country on a tour of Zimbabwe last year, and in a home series against Bangladesh when former skipper Mathews was ruled out with injury.
"Most probably the captain is going to be Rangana, because for now it's just one Test, and he has done the job before," Gurusinha said.
"But we haven't worked everything out. We will sit down and do that this afternoon."
Just weeks after his axing from the one-day international squad, Chandimal was appointed as Sri Lanka's 15th Test captain following the resignation of Mathews in the wake of their ODI series defeat by Zimbabwe.
Chandimal, who became Sri Lanka's youngest-ever captain when he was appointed as their T20 skipper in 2013, made his Test captaincy debut last in a one-off match against Zimbabwe in Colombo.
He lead the side in their one-off Test against Zimbabwe, a match in which Sri Lanka relied on some final day fortune to chase down a record fourth-innings score to win.