Mahela unlikely for Bangladesh series

Mahela Jayawardene has been ruled out of the upcoming Test series against Bangladesh and is also likely to miss the rest of the tour after sustaining a fracture to the middle finger of his left hand. Thilan Samaraweera will replace Jayawardene in the Test squad.

Jayawardene will undergo surgery on Tuesday after he dislocated his finger while taking a catch in the slips during a first-class match for Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) on Sunday. While he couldn't avail medical attention immediately, scans later showed that a chip had come loose from the bone. He may be ruled out for four to six weeks.

"His scans have already been dispatched to Australia for further investigations, but experts have said that the forecast is not very good for the veteran batsman to play the Bangladesh series," Sri Lanka Cricket said.

Samaraweera had been dropped from the side after a poor tour of Australia, but has been among runs in the ongoing first-class tournament. He has made two hundreds and a fifty in five innings for SSC, and is the second-highest run scorer in the league so far.

Kumar Sangakkara is also fighting to recover in time for the first Test, and has begun light batting in the nets after fracturing his hand during the Boxing Day Test. He will begin more demanding practice sessions next week, but is likely to be playing through pain as he aims to be fit for the last round of first-class matches before the Bangladesh tour.

He had hoped to be fit and back in the game by mid-February, but it is still uncertain if he will play in the first Test in Galle.

Bangladesh arrive on February 28 for a tour which includes two Tests, three ODIs and two Twenty20s, in addition to a tour match. They play their last match in Sri Lanka on March 31.