Sports
Yupun out of competitions for few weeks due to injury
by Reemus Fernando
Sprinter Yupun Abeykoon who suffered an injury during last week’s 100 metres final of the Savona International Meet will ‘stay away from competitions for few weeks.’
“After the MRI test which I took after my race in Savona, it is unfortunate that I have to inform you all that due to a minor hamstring injury I have to stay away from competitions for a few weeks due to medical advice given by experts,” said the Italy based sprinter in a statement yesterday.
Abeykoon was placed second behind Reece Prescod of Britain in the final of the Savona International Meet last week. The national record holder returned a wind-assisted 10.01 seconds (+2.7) performance to open his season in the 100metres. However, despite placing second in the final, he was seen struggling during the last few metres of the race. The injury means he must skip one of the major 100 metres events this week.
The first South Asian Sprinter to break the ten seconds barrier in the men’s 100 metres, Abeykoon was expected to compete against a star-studded lineup at the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea in Florence later this week.
The world-class lineup includes world champion Fred Kerley and Kenyan world leader in the 100 metres this season, Ferdinand Omanyala.
“I have already started my rehab process with my physio, doctors and the rest of the staff and I am looking forward to coming back stronger than I was in the upcoming competitions,” he further stated.
The highest-ranked Sri Lankan male athlete, Abeykoon is the prime medal hopeful at this year’s Asian Games. Sri Lanka Athletics is relying heavily on Abeykoon to end the country’s medal drought in track and field at the quadrennial event.
He is also the only male athlete to be in the required range in the world rankings to be eligible for selection for this year’s World Championships.
Tom Banton’s clinical half-century and a breathless Harry Brook cameo gave England an unassailable 2-0 lead over Sri Lanka, and left them with a problem of plenty ahead of the start of the T20 World Cup next weekend.
England’s solid start in an attempt to chase 190 was interrupted for more than an hour by unexpected rain in Pallekelle, and they were set a stiff DLS-adjusted equation of 111 more runs off the last 9.4 overs when the weather cleared. But Banton’s 54 not out off 29 balls – his first England fifty in four years – and Brook’s 36 off 12 saw them home with two balls unused.
Banton, an opener by trade, has been fashioned into a finisher since returning to the England side last summer and looked like a placeholder for the injured Ben Duckett when picked at No. 4 for this series. But he has been a cut above his England team-mates when facing Sri Lanka’s spinners and will be hard to leave out even when Duckett’s bruised finger has recovered.
For all the doom and gloom in English cricket after another Ashes debacle in Australia, England have now won nine of their last 10 completed T20Is since Brook took over as captain last summer and will head into their opening match against Nepal next week confident that they can mount a genuine challenge for the World Cup title that they surrendered two years ago.
England owed plenty to their three-man spin attack, who returned combined figures of 3 for 81 from 12 overs; their seamers, by contrast, leaked 103 runs from eight overs. It was a familiar story for Sri Lanka, whose innings faded after a bright start. With a platform of 102 for 1 off 10 overs, they should have managed more than 189 for 5 – not least with three dropped catches.
Sri Lanka may also rue their luck, given the unexpected change in conditions. Dasun Shanaka, their captain, was happy to bat first on a used pitch but his bowlers struggled for control with a wet ball after the rain break, and lost Eshan Malinga to a shoulder injury sustained off the first ball of the resumption. “That’s the reason we lost,” Shanaka said.
Banton was a dominant leg-side player when he burst into international cricket as a precocious 20-year-old back in 2019 but expanded his game significantly after dropping out of the England set-up in his early 20s and proved as much when taking on Sri Lanka’s spinners through the middle overs.
He reverse-swept Wanindu Hasaranga and launched Dunith Wellalage over extra cover for sixes, and brought up a 29-ball half-century by drilling Shanaka’s medium pace through wide long-on. “Most of my career I’ve been opening, and I’ve got a new role with England which has been really exciting,” Banton said. “It was a great night. Great to get a series win.”
England lost two early wickets: Phil Salt sliced Matheesha Pathirana’s slower ball to short third, and Jacob Bethell edged behind looking to uppercut Shanaka’s short ball. Joss Buttler looked ominous early on, pinging consecutive boundaries off Pathirana, but fell to an excellent diving catch at deep point by Pavan Rathnayake, looking to hit Wellalage for six.
But the required rate never spiralled out of control thanks to both Banton and Brook, who hit four of the 12 balls he faced for six in an outrageous cameo. He hit four consecutive legal balls from Pathirana for four, six, six and six – with an over’s gap in the middle – as he repeatedly gave himself room and blazed over extra cover, before he was caught trying to lap-pull over fine leg.
It left Banton to see England home, with Sam Curran delivering the winning blow by hoisting Janith Liyanage’s medium pace over wide long-on for six.
Pathum Nissanka got Sri Lanka off to a lively start, hitting Curran for three consecutive boundaries in the first over before flicking Jofra Archer for six. He continued to attack when Brook threw the ball to his spinners, slog-sweeping Will Jacks for six, before chopping Archer onto his own stumps for a 22-ball 34.
Sri Lanka managed 58 for 1 in the Powerplay and Kusal Mendis took over from Nissanka, dragging Adil Rashid through midwicket for back-to-back fours and using his paddle-sweep to get Liam Dawson away. But Kamil Mishara could not score as freely, and picked out long-on on 36 when he tried to launch Jacks for six.
It was thanks to Rathanayake that Sri Lanka’s innings did not completely fade away. Picked on the back of his sparkling century in the third ODI earlier in the week, his 40 off 22 balls featured several slices of luck – a top-edged pull for six, a bottom-edged sweep for four, and a reprieve on 12 thanks to Banton – but may have earned him a spot in their T20 World Cup squad, which is yet to be announced.
But Mendis fell top-edging a sweep, Shanaka was pinned lbw by a googly, and Charith Asalanka never got going despite two reprieves of his own: one tough chance, which Salt parried over the rope, and a much easier drop by Banton at deep square leg. But Banton made amends, and left Sri Lanka with more questions than answers.
Brief scores:
England 173 for 4 in 16.4 overs (Tom Banton 54*, Joss Buttler 39, Jacob Bethell 13, Harry Brook 36, Sam Curran 20*; Matheesha Pathirana 2-47, Dasun Shanaka 1-24, Dunith Wellalage 1-30) beat Sri Lanka 189 for 5 in 20 overs (Pavan Rathnayake 40, Kamil Mishara 36, Pathum Nissanka 34, Kusal Mendis 32, Charith Asalanka 28* ; Jofra Archer 2-42, Will Jacks 1-24, Liam Dawson 1-32, Adil Rashid 1-25 ) by six wickets (DLS method)
(Cricinfo)
Pakistan will boycott their Group A game against India at the 2026 T20 World Cup. A post issued by the Government of Pakistan’s official X account said the government had granted permission to the Pakistan team to travel to Sri Lanka for the tournament, but that “the Pakistan cricket team shall not take the field in the match scheduled on 15 February 2026 against India”.
The statement did not specify a reason for that decision. The full post on X was as follows: “The Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan grants approval to the Pakistan Cricket Team to participate in the ICC World T20 2026, however, the Pakistan Cricket Team shall not take the field in the match scheduled on 15th February 2026 against India.” It is understood the PCB is yet to write to the ICC informing them of the boycott.
The India-Pakistan fixture is by far the most lucrative – and usually most-watched – game of any ICC tournament. To capitalise on that, the ICC has ensured the two teams are always in the same group of any ICC event since 2012, even as worsening diplomatic relations between the two nations means they have not played a bilateral fixture in 14 years. There is no word yet on what will happen should the two sides meet in a knockout game but the 2026 T20 World Cup now looks set to become the first men’s ICC event since 2010 not to feature an India-Pakistan game in the group stages.
Pakistan’s participation, or the extent of it, at the 2026 T20 World Cup had been thrown into doubt by PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi after Bangladesh were removed from the tournament on January 24 following their refusal to play in India due to security concerns. Pakistan was the only country vocally supportive of Bangladesh’s request for an alternate venue, and reacted to their removal by accusing the ICC of double standards favouring India. He said the government would ultimately decide whether Pakistan were to take part in the tournament.
Two days later, Naqvi, who met Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, said he had been advised to keep all options open to resolve the issue. Naqvi said at the time the decision would be taken on “Friday or next Monday”. One day out from that deadline, the Pakistan government appeared to have made its mind up.
Pakistan are in Group A along with India, Namibia, Netherlands and USA, and are playing all their matches in Sri Lanka, which is a co-host of the tournament along with India. They play their first match against Netherlands on February 7, the opening day of the T20 World Cup, and then take on USA on February 10, and Namibia on February 18. Pakistan will forfeit the two points from their game against India if they boycott the fixture.
The ICC’s Playing Conditions dictate that Pakistan’s net run rate will also be hit by the forfeiture, but India’s will remain unaffected. Clause 16.10.7 states that in the event of a forfeit, “the net run rate of the defaulting team shall be affected in that the full 20 overs of the defaulting team’s innings in such forfeited match shall be taken into account in calculating the average runs per over of the defaulting team over the course of the relevant portion of the competition.”
(Cricinfo)
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Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Kusal Mendis (wk), Pavan Rathnayake, Charith Asalanka, Janith Liyanage, Dasun Shanaka (capt), Dunith Wellalage, Wanindu Hasaranga, Eshan Malinga, Matheesha Pathirana
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