Huge blow for Sri Lanka as injured skipper Dasun Shanaka ruled out of World Cup

The Sri Lankan cricket team suffered a major blow amid the ongoing World Cup 2023 after their injured captain Dasun Shanaka was ruled out of the mega event.

Shanaka will be replaced by Chamika Karunaratne — following the approval of ICC's Event Technical Committee — as the 32-year-old batsman requires three weeks to recover after suffering a right thigh muscle injury during the match against Pakistan.

The Islanders lost their opening two matches against Pakistan and South Africa, respectively, and are ranked seventh in the points table. They will not face Australia will now be their opponent on October 16.

Earlier in the tournament, Pakistan beat Sri Lanka in a record-breaking 345-run chase at Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi Stadium.

The match saw another record being broken with Pakistan conceding their highest-ever total in a World Cup match.

By scoring 344 runs, the Islanders — overtaking India's 336 runs innings in the 2019 World Cup — became the side to have scored the most runs against Pakistan in a World Cup innings.

The Green Shirts successfully chased down the mammoth 345-run target courtesy of splendid centuries by Mohammad Rizwan and Abdullah Shafique who anchored the innings after Sri Lanka inflicted early blows sending skipper Babar Azam and opener Imam-ul-Haq back to the pavilion early in the game.

The run chase — which broke the previous highest chase of 329 runs by Ireland against England — is the highest in World Cup history during the past 12 editions of the ODI World Cup, chases of over 300 runs have been achieved only a handful of times.