World Cup 2019: Nuwan Pradeep ruled out of the tournament due to chickenpox

What’s the story?

Sri Lankan pacer Nuwan Pradeep will not be able to continue any further in the tournament as he has fallen prey to chickenpox.

In case you didn’t know…

Nuwan Pradeep had not played in the game against Bangladesh as he had dislocated his finger in the nets.

Heart of the matter

The 32-year-old pacer has been ruled out of the remainder of the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup due to chicken pox. Pradeep had picked up five wickets in the three matches he played. He had also played an important role for Sri Lanka in the match against Afghanistan, picking up a four-wicket haul.

Kasun Rajitha has been approved by the ICC Technical Committee as a replacement for Pradeep. He had played his last game against South Africa, prior to the World Cup. He has played six ODIs since his debut and has picked up 5 wickets in the process.

Nuwan Pradeep has been ruled out of the rest of #CWC19 with chickenpox.Kasun Rajitha will join the Sri Lanka squad as his replacement. pic.twitter.com/DoN24hjpLM

— Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) June 29, 2019

Nuwan Pradeep’s loss will be huge for the Lankans as their pace battery hasn’t been doing exactly well in this tournament, apart from Lasith Malinga who has been putting in all his ability to gain respectable results for them.

The Sri Lankan side hasn’t been performing as a whole, winning only 2 of the 7 games they have played and Pradeep’s loss will do no good to their cause. They have only two games left and will have to do something miraculous in their next two matches in order to keep their hopes of qualification for the semis alive.

What’s next?

Sri Lanka will next play against the West Indies on the 1st of July on the Riverside Ground in Chester-le-Street and they will have to sort their combination before this game if they want to pull off something better against the Windies.

Their road ahead is no easier, as they are to play India on the 6th of July in their final encounter of the league stage.

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