Sri Lanka announce replacement for Matheesha Pathirana, bring in Dilshan Madushanka as injury bug continues to bite

Sri Lanka bring in left-arm seamer Dilshan Madushanka to replace Matheesha Pathirana, who suffered a muscle strain against Australia.

T20 World Cup 2026 co-hosts Sri Lanka suffered a big blow to their campaign at home as star seamer Matheesha Pathirana was ruled out of the remainder of the tournament after sustaining a muscle strain during the team's match against Australia in Pallekele on Monday night.

Matheesha Pathirana misses out on the remainder of the World Cup with a muscle strain. (AFP)

Pathirana, known for his distinctive singing bowling action, has been an injury-prone bowler during his playing career, and his absence will be a big miss for a Sri Lankan team who have leveraged their expertise at home to become true dark horses for the World Cup.

Sri Lanka were good enough to beat Australia in a dramatic game thanks to Pathum Nissanka’s century, and will be hoping to use that momentum heading into the Super 8 stage. However, Pathirana’s absence will be a big miss, but the Lankans have announced a replacement heading into the next part of the tournament.

Left-arm seamer Dilshan Madushanka has been drafted into the team as Pathirana’s replacement, and joins the seam-bowling ranks including Dushmantha Chameera and Dasun Shanaka. The injury concerns continue to grow for Sri Lanka – Eshan Malinga was withdrawn from the squad earlier this tournament, while Wanindu Hasaranga was also forced to step down from the World Cup due to injury.

Sri Lanka back themselves with Super 8s group for the taking

Despite this, Sri Lanka remain unbeaten in the World Cup thus far, using their skill with and against spin to their advantage. They have been drawn into a Super 8 group alongside England, Pakistan, and New Zealand, and will be hoping to rely on their spin proficiency to earn results to reach the semifinals.

Sri Laka will have an important final group stage contest against Zimbabwe, a contest which will see them face off against a different team in the Super 8s and be a good test heading into that phase.

The co-hosts then begin their Super 8 campaign with a match against England in Pallekele, before heading to Colombo to play against New Zealand and Pakistan. The co-hosts will back themselves to take the challenge to these teams, with their batting form in particular giving them some confidence to take forward.