KL Rahul's Wild Hit Injures Nishan Madushka; Sri Lanka Star Leaves Field

KL Rahul - (Source: ScreenGrab/X)

The first Test between Sri Lanka and India is underway at the Galle Stadium. The Shubman Gill-led side won the toss and opted to bat first. KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal opened the innings and got off to a decent start. 

Sri Lanka’s plan to fetch wickets through seamers failed in the first hour, which is why the Island Nation brought spin in the 9th over of the match. The Island Nation couldn’t take a wicket but lost Nishan Madushka due to injury.

KL Rahul’s Wild Shot Injures Sri Lanka Star

Notably, on the 5th ball of the 10th over, KL Rahul played a sweep shot off Prabath Jayasuriya’s bowling, and it struck Nishan Madushka's helmet at short leg. It was a scary scene because the Sri Lanka opener ducked to dodge the shot.

However, he failed to get out of the way, and the ball struck him hard on the helmet. Despite the protection, the physios rushed for the mandatory check-up. The impact turned out to be more serious than earlier thought, and the doctors advised Nishan Madhushka to walk off the field.

Nishan Madhushka’s Participation In Doubt

At present, Madhushka’s participation in the Test is in doubt because he is getting tested for concussion. Further, Pasindu Sooriyabandara is the substitute fielder. It is worth noting that if Madhushka is unable to continue further in the Test match, then Sooriyabandara can be roped in as a concussion sub.

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In that scenario, Pasindu Sooriyabandara will make his Test debut. Notably, Sri Lanka Cricket is yet to issue an official update regarding Nishan Madushka's injury. At the time of writing this article, Madushka is still out of the field, which has further fuelled the allegations that things might be serious than it appears.

Will Sri Lanka Miss Nishan Madhuska's Presence In The 1st Test?

At present, it is too early to rule out Madushka's participation in the ongoing Test, but if he does, then it will be a big blow for Sri Lanka. The 26-year-old opener has been in tremendous form recently. Madhushka scored 256 runs in 4 innings during Sri Lanka 4-Day tournament and also shone against India during the recent warm-up match. 

Playing for Sri Lanka XI, Nishan Madhushka scored twin fifties and averaged 64.50 in the recently concluded Warm-up match against India. However, his potential replacement Pasindu Sooriyabandara is also in great touch and has the perfect platform to shine if the opportunity arrives.

Sri Lanka might hand a debut to Pasindu Sooriyabandu. The 26-year-old has been doing brilliantly in domestic circuit. He has 4893 runs in First-Class Cricket, averaging 54.36. He was also part of recently concluded Warm-up match.

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