Injured Muralitharan ruled out of 1st game

Galle (Sri Lanka), July 3: Muttiah Muralitharan was on Friday ruled out of the first Test against Pakistan with a knee injury, dealing a huge blow to Sri Lanka’s bid to win the emotionally-charged series.

The spin wizard hurt his patella tendon during training on Thursday and will sit out of the opening game of the three-Test series starting at the Galle International Stadium on Saturday.

The series opener will be the first Test match between the two nations since gunmen fired on the Sri Lankan team bus during a visit to Pakistan on March 3.

Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara said he was hopeful that Muralitharan, who boasts world records for his 770 Test and 505 one-day wickets, will be available for the second match from July 12.

“He was doing his warm-ups and he suddenly felt a bit of discomfort in his right knee,” said Sangakkara. “The scan report showed a slight tear. The risk of him tearing his tendon in the first Test is very high. I don’t think we want to risk him getting injured for a long time just for the sake of one Test. Hopefully he will be fit by the second Test.”

Seven Sri Lankan cricketers were injured and eight local securitymen were killed in the March attack in the city of Lahore that forced the cricket world to abandon Pakistan as a venue for international cricket.

The series starts just 13 days after Pakistan defeated Sri Lanka in the final of the World Twenty20 at Lord’s in London on June 21.

The Sri Lankan selectors have summoned left-arm spinner Rangana Herath and rookie off-spinner Suraj Mohamed to join the squad in Muralitharan’s absence.

Herath last played a Test for Sri Lanka in December against Bangladesh, while Mohamed claimed four Pakistani wickets in the three-day tour opener in Colombo.