Wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Chandimal’s participation in Sri Lanka’s third ODI against Australia in Brisbane remained in the balance on Thursday.
Chandimal sustained a hamstring injury in the series opener in Melbourne, which the hosts won by 107 runs, and was replaced by debutant Kushal Perera for the second match in Adelaide, where the tourists won by eight wickets.
“We haven’t decided on an XI because we want to give Dinesh another 24 hours to see how he pulls up. He did bat on Wednesday and had a few run-throughs, and he pulled up pretty well,” said Jayawardene.
“We just wanted to give him a little more time. Kushal kept wickets pretty well and batted pretty well, but we’ll make the final call when we see the pitch, and we can decide if we need to change our combination with the bowling attack.”
Jayawardene looked forward to a testing challenge against an opposition unit completed by the return of captain Michael Clarke, batsman David Warner and wicketkeeper Matthew Wade, who were rested for the first two fixtures of the five-match series.
Meanwhile, ODI cricket’s new rules, one of which only allows four fielders outside the 30-yard circle at any time in the match continued to concern the Sri Lankan skipper.
“It’s good to have Warner and Michael back, but we’ll prepare the same way. We just need to change our game plan a little bit and execute those plans to those guys,” he added.
“I’m not a big fan of the new rule. The downside with the field restrictions is that the spinners are taken away from the game. It’s challenging, but I think it’s restricting the bowlers more and the batsmen are having a free hand.”
