Sri Lanka batsman Avishka Fernando has been ruled out of the ODIs against England with a grade two tear to his quadriceps. Fernando had picked up the injury while fielding in the second T20I, in Cardiff, and had not played in the third match in Southampton.
The injury is particularly disappointing for Fernando, because this had been his first tour with the national team since the start of the pandemic. Earlier this year, he had missed out on limited-overs squads to West Indies and Bangladesh because he had failed fitness tests.
Although Fernando would have likely been in the first-choice XI, Sri Lanka have several batsmen capable of playing in the top three in his place. Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis, Oshada Fernando and Pathum Nissanka have all batted in the top three in the past (Nissanka mainly for his domestic teams).
Fernando's absence, however, does weaken Sri Lanka ahead of an already daunting assignment. Not only are Sri Lanka ranked ninth in ODIs while England are fourth (as well as the format's World Champions), they have also lost six of their last eight completed ODIs against England.
Sri Lanka were also easily whitewashed in the three-match T20I series that concluded on Saturday.