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Injured Murali to miss first Test; Yousuf returns for Pakistan

GALLE: A knee injury has forced spin great Muttiah Muralitharan out of Sri Lanka’s side for the first cricket Test against Pakistan starting here on Saturday.

Captain Kumar Sangakkara said on Friday that uncapped off-spinner Suraj Kaluhalmulla and left-arm spinner Rangana Herath had been brought into the squad as potential replacements.

Sangakkara said Muralitharan felt discomfort in his knee during practice, but bowled on for a further 40 minutes.

“We took a precautionary scan...we were pretty confident that he was going to make it but the scan report said there was a slight tear, so the risk of his tarring his tendon in the first Test match is very high,” Sangakkara said.

“So I don’t think we want to risk him getting injured and being out for a long period for the sake of one Test match.”

Sangakkara said the reduced bowling attack was still capable of beating Pakistan.

Sri Lanka faces further selection dilemma over its wicketkeeper. With regular wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardene out with a fractured finger, Sangakkara, readying for his first Test series as captain, faces the choice of leading the side, batting at No. 3 and also keeping wicket — an exhausting prospect in Sri Lanka’s hot and humid climate.

There is the option of playing uncapped Kaushal Silva, a batsman with a fine first-class record, but Sangakkara is tempted to play an all-rounder to give him more bowling options.

“A specialist wicketkeeper is important but then again we have two other wicketkeepers in the squad, myself and Tillakaratne Dilshan,” said Sangakkara.

If Sri Lanka does opt for a non-specialist wicketkeeper then all-rounder Angelo Mathews, who broke into the one-day and T20 team in the past year, will make his Test debut.

Thilan Samaraweera will play in the middle order, his 50th Test appearance, just four months after being shot in the thigh in a militant attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in the Pakistani city of Lahore.

Pakistan has been strengthened by the return of middle order batsman Mohammad Yousuf.

All-rounder Abdul Razzaq, also recalled after snapping his ties with the ICL, could return although Pakistan, is likely to play two slow bowlers in Danish Kaneria and Saeed Ajmal.

Skipper Younus Khan said there was added pressure on his team after the victory in the World Twenty20.

“It will be double pressure on us because our people want wins in every match and after the Twenty20 success they want more success and that can put pressure on us, but we are ready for it.”

The teams (from): Pakistan: Younus Khan (capt.), Salman Butt, Khurram Manzoor, Mohammad Yousuf, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Aamer, Danish Kaneria, Abdul Razzaq, Abdur Rauf, Fawad Alam, Faisal Iqbal.

Sri Lanka: Kumar Sangakkara (capt.), Malinda Warnapura, Tharanga Paranavitana, Mahela Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Angelo Mathews, Chamara Kapugedera, Ajantha Mendis, Rangana Herath, Suraj Mohamed, Thilan Thushara, Nuwan Kulasekera, Dhammika Prasad, Kaushal Silva, Suranga Lakmal. — Agencies

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