All-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga has been ruled out for the rest of Sri Lanka’s 2026 T20 World Cup campaign, after injuring his hamstring against Ireland on Sunday.
Hasaranga pulled up with what appeared to be a hamstring injury after bowling just two deliveries, but continued bowling through the injury to take three wickets for 25 runs and help Sri Lanka to a 20-run win.
An MRI on Monday had confirmed Hasaranga suffered a “serious tear in his left hamstring”, ESPNCricinfo reported, ending his participation in the tournament.
Hasaranga has been Sri Lanka’s best bowler since he debuted in September 2019, taking 260 wickets across all three formats of the game – Test, ODI and T20I.
He is also second only to Bangladesh’s Shakib al-Hasan in the list of all-time leading wicket-takers in T20 World Cup history, having picked up 40 wickets.
He has also, however, suffered multiple hamstring injuries in that period, notably missing out on the 50-over Cricket World Cup in 2023 after failing to recover from an injury he picked up in the lead-up to that tournament.
Hasaranga missed seven of the 24 T20Is and five of the 16 ODIs Sri Lanka played in 2025, also due to a hamstring injury.
Sri Lanka’s nominated replacement for Hasaranga, another leg-spin bowling all-rounder Dushan Hemantha, was approved by the Event Technical committee.
Sri Lanka, who are co-hosting the T20 World Cup with India, will next face Oman on Thursday (February 12).
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