Lahiru Udara made 188 in Antigua and was still left out, and Nissanka’s hamstring has now put him in Sri Lanka’s Test squad
Pathum Nissanka has been ruled out of Sri Lanka’s two-Test series in Pakistan with a left hamstring injury, and Lahiru Udara, already in Pakistan with the ODI squad, takes his place.
Oct 27, 2026
Pathum Nissanka will not play a Test in Pakistan. Sri Lanka Cricket said on Tuesday that the opener is yet to recover from his left hamstring injury, and the selectors have brought in Lahiru Udara for the two-match series, which starts in Rawalpindi on 9 November.
Nissanka was named in the 15-man squad on 13 October, on condition that he was fit before the first Test. The hamstring first troubled him on Sri Lanka’s white-ball tour of England in September, and it has already kept him out of the ODI tri-series in Pakistan. Udara replaced him for that as well.
Udara gets the place he was denied two weeks ago
Being in the country already made Udara the simple choice. He has a stronger claim than that, though. In the second Test against West Indies in Antigua, only his third Test, he made 188 from 248 balls, the highest score by a Sri Lankan batter in the West Indies. When the Pakistan squad was picked in October, he was left out.
He also played both Tests against India in August, when Sri Lanka lost by 165 runs at Galle and saved the second Test in Colombo. Most of their runs in that series came from Sonal Dinusha, who made more than 400, including 133 not out off 264 balls to secure the draw. Dinusha is in the squad for Pakistan.
Nissanka missed that India series too, recovering from wrist surgery. He is the opener Sri Lanka can least afford to lose. In June 2025 he made 187 at Galle and 158 at the SSC in consecutive Tests against Bangladesh.
Mendis takes charge in Pakistan
Kusal Mendis leads the side, having taken over the Test captaincy from Dhananjaya de Silva. Mendis also missed the India series, with a hamstring injury picked up in the Lanka Premier League. Dilshan Madushanka is back in the squad, Eshan Malinga and Anjala Bandara have been called up, and Niroshan Dickwella, who made 80 at Galle, has been left out.
The series is part of the World Test Championship, with the second Test in Lahore from 17 November. Sri Lanka are seventh in the table and Pakistan ninth, so neither side has much room left. Before that, Sri Lanka play Pakistan in the tri-series in Lahore on Tuesday, with England’s hopes of reaching Saturday’s final depending on the result.