Wanindu Hasaranga of Sunrisers Hyderabad has been ruled out of IPL 2024 with a heel injury he had sustained during the Bangladesh tour.
Subscribe to the Wisden Cricket YouTube channel for post-match analysis, player interviews, and much more.
When Sunrisers Hyderabad acquired Wanindu Hasaranga for INR 1.5 crore, it seemed they had cracked the steal of the IPL 2024 auction. If anything, it put them in a conundrum, of which four of their star-studded overseas cricketers to pick.
According to latest reports, however, Hasaranga has now been ruled out of the entire edition of IPL 2024. Shyam, Hasaranga’s manager, told Cricbuzzthat Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) have informed the BCCI about his unavailability after a medical expert advised him rest. “Sri Lanka Cricket has written to the BCCI informing them about his unavailability,” said the manager.
“He went to Dubai for medical advice and stayed there for three days. Given the current situation, the expert’s advice is that he should rest rather than participate in the IPL this season.”
Earlier, there were contrasting reports surrounding Hasaranga’s participation in IPL 2024, with the player’s manager claiming a few days back that he would be available later in the tournament, while at the same time SLC CEO Ashley de Silva indicating that he had decided to skip the IPL.
The Test unretirement-ban saga
The last few weeks have been eventful for Hasaranga. On February 25, during his first series as T20I captain, he abused the umpires and was subsequently suspended for the first two ODIs on the Bangladesh tour.
He played in the third T20I and all three ODIs. On the day of the last of these matches, he was included in the Test squad nearly three years after his last Test match and seven months after his retirement from the format.
The ICC suspended him again for misbehaviour, and Hasaranga served his ban across the first two Test matches, a format he does not play. This led to speculations over his inclusion in the Test squad being deliberate to avoid him being banned at the T20 World Cup, but Sri Lanka Cricket subsequently clarified that he had unretired before the recent suspension.
Hasaranga played through pain
On March 27, reports surfaced that Hasaranga had played the limited-overs matches in Bangladesh through pain. He was also set to leave Sri Lanka a week after that “to seek further medical opinion on the exact nature of the injury, and how best to manage it”.
Going by reports, Hasaranga has now been ruled out of the entire edition of IPL 2024 due to his heel injury. Sunrisers Hyderabad are yet to name a replacement.
