Sri Lanka are considered dark horses at this T20 World Cup 2026 considering they are playing at their home. Co-hosting the tournament alongside India, the Lankan Lions have a great bowling lineup to rely upon. However, that bowling seems to now lose its spearhead as Wanindu Hasaranga is most likely to be ruled out of the remainder of the T20 World Cup.
It comes as a crushing news for Sri Lanka, who know Hasaranga’s value as the biggest match-winner that they have. As per various reports, Hasaranga aggravated his hamstring muscle injury in the opening game against Ireland.
Wanindu Hasaranga leaves Sri Lanka in jeopardy
The leg-spinner had a great game against Ireland in Colombo. He got rid of Mark Adair, who was well set at 34 in a 164-run chase before getting highest run scorer for Ireland, Harry Tector (40) out and as well as Curtis Campher.
However, in between, he was visibly uncomfortable. He stretched his hamstring muscle. For those unaware, Hasaranga has undergone two significant surgeries since 2023, both related to severe hamstring tears. During LPL 2023, he suffered a Grade 3 muscle tear that forced him to miss the ODI World Cup 2023 and the Asia Cup preceding to that.
In the lead up to the T20 World Cup 2026, he underwent a minor surgery for a recurring hamstring issue in late January 2026, shortly after seeking specialist treatment in Singapore. In addition to his hamstring woes, Hasaranga suffered from chronic heel pain in his left foot throughout early 2024.
Now that Hasaranga’s injury has flared up again, Sri Lanka are looking at all-rounder Dushan Hemantha to have in as a replacement. The ICC allows a replacement during a tournament if a player gets an injury that rules him out of the tournament. Unfortunately, that is the case with Lanka’s biggest trump card Hasaranga.
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