Sadeera Samarawickrama has been advised rest after undergoing a CT scan for copping a blow to his helmet while fielding at forward short leg on the opening day of the Delhi Test. The Sri Lankan opener was hit on the last ball of the 30th over of the day’s play, when Murali Vijay whipped a Dilruwan Perera delivery towards the on-side.
Sadeera stayed on the field despite the blow, but umpire Nigel Llong called on the Sri Lankan physio to check for concussion as a precautionary measure. He was taken off the field and cleared of danger after a CT scan. He will, however, not take the field for the remainder of the day’s play.
The team management, said: “He was hit on the head. We did some precautionary scans, everything is clear but we have to monitor him tonight and then doctors will see him tomorrow morning and decide whether he will play tomorrow or not. He is back in the changing rooms but we will have to be very careful making a decision, so tomorrow morning is the time we’ll look at him. We will go with medical advice from now on.”
Incidentally, this is the second time in two games that Samarawickrama has come under the line of Vijay’s fire. In Nagpur, the Sri Lankan was floored by a full-blooded Vijay sweep off Rangana Herath that struck him on the chest. He walked off the field and was cleared after x-rays showed no rib damage.