Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka was unaware of the latest developments around injured duo of batter Ashen Bandara and spinner Jeffrey Vandersay after the recently concluded third ODI against India in Thiruvananthapuram.
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Speaking to host broadcaster Star Sports during the post-match presentation ceremony, Shanaka said that he had no update on their respective injuries. For the unversed, Bandara and Vandersay were involved in a nasty collision while trying to stop a boundary hit by former India captain Virat Kohli in the 43rd over earlier in the day.
Not being able to save a boundary was the least of concerns for everyone after having watched the initial sight of Bandara and Vandersay bumping into each other. Had either of the two fielders called with respect to diving first, the incident could’ve been easily avoided at the Greenfield International Stadium today.
While both the players had to be stretchered off, Vandersay was replaced by all-rounder Dunith Wellalage as a concussion substitute as he was hit on the head. Bandara, meanwhile, didn’t return from the hospital in time to bat in what was nothing short of disastrous effort from the visitors. The nature and extent of Bandara’s injuries also remain unknown for now.
Abs hurt in cricket
Since a substitute in cricket is only allowed for concussion injuries, there was no way Bandara could have been substituted as a batter (a player can only be substituted as a fielder in cricket). As a result, Sri Lanka batted with only 10 batters in their innings whilst unsuccessfully chasing a mammoth 391-run target tonight.
It is due to the same reason that Bandara was “absent hurt” or “abs hurt” during the Sri Lankan innings. Hence, the same was written in front of his name on the scorecard.
Had Bandara been injured while batting, he would have been retired hurt standing a chance to resume his innings upon recovering from the injury.
