Sri Lanka's Mendis, Chandimal ruled out of second Test against India

GALLE: Sri Lanka's experienced batting duo of Kusal Mendis and Dinesh Chandimal has been ruled out of their second and last Test of the ongoing home series against India, scheduled to be played at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) Ground in Colombo from August 23 to 27.

The development was confirmed by head coach Gary Kirsten following their 165-run defeat in their Test series opener against India here.

Notably, Mendis has been out of action since injuring his hamstring during the early rounds of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) 2026 and was consequently replaced by Niroshan Dickwella in Sri Lanka's squad for the recently concluded fixture.

Chandimal, however, is automatically ruled out of the upcoming fixture as the International Cricket Council (ICC) rules stipulate that players substituted for concussion-related reasons cannot play for seven days.

Besides Mendis and Chandimal, left-handed opener Pathum Nissanka is also doubtful for the upcoming fixture as he continues to recover from the wrist surgery he underwent in June.

Kirsten, however, insisted that the unavailability of the key players offers a "good opportunity" to the youngsters to come in and prove their mettle.

"Kusal Mendis has a proper hamstring injury, and will not be available for a while," Sri Lanka coach Gary Kirsten said.

"Dinesh is also not available for the next Test. So we're missing a few guys from that perspective, but it creates a good opportunity for young players to come in and stake their claim. There are players who have got really good first-class records in this country. It's a good opportunity for them."

It is pertinent to mention that Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has yet to unveil its men's team squad for the second Test against India, as the contingent it named prior to the series was solely for the opening fixture.