Maharoof ruled out of series

Farveez Maharoof, the Sri Lanka bowling allrounder, has been ruled out of the two-Test series in Pakistan with a groin injury. Maharoof, who had been overlooked for the first Test currently in progress in Karachi, will fly home and in his place the selectors have called up Nuwan Kulasekara.

Maharoof sustained the injury during a practice session before the first Test at Karachi's National Stadium. "Maharoof is suffering from a groin injury and the doctors have advised him to rest," a team official told Reuters.

Sri Lanka's coach Trevor Bayliss said Kulasekara would join the team before the second Test in Lahore starting March 1.

Maharoof, 24, has represented Sri Lanka in 20 Tests and 91 ODIs since his debut in April 2004. After the Test series in Pakistan, Sri Lanka are scheduled to play five ODIs against Zimbabwe in March and then the World Twenty20 in June.

Maharoof, however, is contracted to the Delhi Daredevils in the IPL. The second season of the Indian Twenty20 league runs from April 10 to May 24.