Hasaranga's Sunrisers debut to be delayed by at least a week

Wanindu Hasaranga is expected to be unavailable for Sunrisers Hyderabad for at least another week as he consults doctors overseas about chronic pain in his left heel.

Although Hasaranga played in Sri Lanka's limited-overs series against Bangladesh in March, ESPNcricinfo understands he did so through substantial pain. Sri Lanka Cricket's medical staff have assessed him, and suspect the pain is down to musculo-skeletal apparatus in his left heel having become worn.

SLC's doctors have asked Hasaranga to seek further medical opinion on the exact nature of the injury, and how best to manage it. He is expected to travel out of Sri Lanka to do so next week.

In any case, he has not joined the Sunrisers squad yet, and there is no set date on when he will do so. The target, for both SLC and Hasaranga himself, is likely to be the T20 World Cup in June, where he is set to captain his national team.

If his condition requires further rest, treatment, or rehabilitation, his return to the IPL will likely be delayed further.

Hasaranga had a spectacular 2022 IPL season for Royal Challengers Bangalore for whom he took 26 wickets at an economy rate of 7.54. Sunrisers had paid INR 1.5 crore (approx USD $181,000) for him at the most-recent auction.

Earlier this month, Hasaranga was suspended from playing Sri Lanka's ongoing Tests against Bangladesh, after racking up eight demerit points for breaching article 2.8 of the players' code of conduct during the third ODI against Bangladesh. Had Hasaranga, who had just come out of Test retirement prior to the ban, been unavailable for the red-ball games, he would have missed the initial matches of Sri Lanka's next international assignment: the T20 World Cup in June.

SLC, however, dismissed claims that Hasaranga's return from retirement was a ploy to make sure he was available for the T20 World Cup, stating that he had informed them in an email on March 16 of his desire to be considered for Test cricket selection going forward, citing his improved fitness levels.