Jayawardene, two others flown in to prop up Lanka

Mirpur:

Three Sri Lankan cricketers, including former captain Mahela Jayawardene, were flown in on Wednesday to prop up a side which is struggling to put 11 fit men together in the ongoing cricket tri-series.

Sri Lanka team manager Brendon Kuruppu said besides Jayawardene, who was part of the Sri Lankan team that played an ODI series in India last month, the other two players are uncapped wicket-keeper batsman Lokuge Dinesh Chandimal and left-handed batsman Mahela Udawatte.

Kuruppu said Chamara Silva and Muthumudalige Pushpakumara, who were injured during Sri Lanka's opening match against Bangladesh, would return home while in-form opener Tillakaratne Dilshan would stay back despite the groin strain he suffered during his match-winning knock of 104 against the hosts.

"Jayawardene, Chandimal and Udawatte have arrived here, while Silva and Pushpakumara will return home. We are hoping that Dilshan will be okay and will play a part in some point of time in the tournament, which is why we have kept him here," Kuruppu told PTI.

"Dilshan though is unlikely for our next game (against Bangladesh on January 8)," he added.