Sri Lanka have summoned leg-spinner Vijayakanth Viyaskanth to bolster their T20 squad in Pakistan after Wanindu Hasaranga tweaked a hamstring during the recent ODI series. The selectors stress that Hasaranga is “not yet ruled out”, yet they would rather have cover in place before the tri-series begins on 18 November.
Hasaranga felt the twinge in the second ODI against Pakistan and sat out the third, a match Sri Lanka lost on the way to a 3-0 series defeat. With fixtures coming thick and fast, medical staff are wary of rushing their premier all-rounder. “We’ll monitor him day by day,” a team physio said yesterday, adding that a decision will hinge on how the leg-spinner copes with short sprints at training.
Viyaskanth, meanwhile, will fly in from Qatar, where he has been turning out for Sri Lanka A at the Asia Cup Rising Stars tournament. Still only 23, the Jaffna-born bowler has one senior cap—earned at last year’s Hangzhou Asian Games—and a quietly impressive T20 résumé: 67 wickets in 59 games at 20.98, economy 7.18. He first caught the eye back in 2020, becoming the youngest Lanka Premier League player for Jaffna Stallions at 18 years and 364 days, as well as the first locally raised Jaffna cricketer to appear on international television.
The tri-series also goes ahead without usual T20 skipper Charith Asalanka, who has returned home with a viral illness. All-rounder Dasun Shanaka will step in as captain, a role he knows well. Sri Lanka open their campaign on 20 November against Zimbabwe; each side meets the others twice, with the final slated for 29 November.
On paper the bowling looks light if Hasaranga fails to recover, but coaches believe the extra wrist-spin option offered by Viyaskanth could be handy on slow Pakistani surfaces. “He gives us something different—more skid, more fizz,” one selector remarked. Whether the youngster plays or merely carries drinks, the call-up is another small milestone for a player many back to feature regularly before long.
