Pacer Pramod Madhushan has returned in place of Ishan Malinga.Image Credit source: Sameera Peiris/Getty Images
The waiting hours are finally over and the day has come when the T20 World Cup 2026 will begin. This tournament is starting from Saturday 7th February in India and Sri Lanka, in which 20 teams are participating. But even before the action started on the field, many teams had to make changes in their squads. After Team India and Australia, now World Cup host Sri Lanka also had to take a similar decision. About 12 hours before the first ball of the tournament was bowled, a change was announced in the Sri Lankan squad as fast bowler Ishan Malinga was out.
Pakistan and Netherlands Sri Lanka’s squad changed just 12 hours before the World Cup begins at 11 am (IST) on Saturday with the match between India and Sri Lanka. Fast bowler Ishan Malinga, selected for the tournament, was out due to injury. He suffered a shoulder injury during the recent T20 series against England. In such a situation, in his place, another right-arm pacer Pramod Madhushan got entry into the Sri Lankan team, which was approved by the ICC late on Friday night.
Changes after ICC permission
According to the rules of the tournament, after the deadline for the announcement of the squad and changes in it is over, it is necessary to obtain the approval of the ICC. For this, ICC has an Event Technical Committee, which checks all the parameters and approves changes in the squad of any team. Team India also made changes in the squad on Friday, under which Mohammad Siraj was included in place of fast bowler Harshit Rana. This change also became possible only after the approval of the ICC committee.
Click here to read every news of T20 World Cup
Madhushan returned after 3 years
Talking about the Sri Lankan squad, Ishan suffered this injury while bowling in the third T20 match. He could bowl only 8 balls in the match, after which he had to go out. This is a big blow for Sri Lanka because Malinga was looking in excellent form in this series and before this match, he had taken 3 wickets with economical bowling in 2 matches.
However, 32-year-old pacer Pramod Madhushan, who replaced him, is also a strong bowler. He has taken 12 wickets in 8 matches for Sri Lanka. He was a part of the ODI series against England, where he took 3 wickets in 2 matches. However, he is making a comeback in T20 International after 3 years. He last played T20 match for Sri Lanka in April 2023.
Sri Lanka’s squad in T20 World Cup
Dasun Shanaka (captain), Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (wicket keeper), Kusal Janith Perera, Charit Aslanka, Kamindu Mendis, Wanindu Hasaranga, Mahish Teekshana, matisha pathirana, Dushmantha Chameera, Pramod Madushan, Dunith Velalage, kamil mishara, Zenith Liange, Pawan Ratnayake