Reportedly Sri Lanka pacer Dushmantha Chameera has been named as a replacement for Gus Atkinson by Kolkata Knight Riders for their upcoming season in the Indian Premier League.

Chameera to replace Atkinson

As per an IPL statement, Chameera will join KKR at a reserve price of INR 50 Lakh. Chameera has played 12 IPL games so far and taken nine wickets at an economy rate of 8.73. He has been part of Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and most recently for Lucknow Super Giants in 2022 in the Indian Premier League.

“Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have named Dushmantha Chameera as a replacement for England pacer Gus Atkinson for the upcoming edition of the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024,” the IPL release said.

“Chameera will join KKR at a reserve price of INR 50 Lakh. The Sri Lankan speedster, who is known for his pace, and can trouble the batters with his swing and seam movements, was a part of Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2018 and 2021 IPL seasons, respectively. He represented Lucknow Super Giants in the 2022 season, where he picked up nine wickets from 12 matches,” it further added.

What happened to Atkinson?

On the other hand, the 26-year-old pacer from England, Atkinson has withdrawn from the TATA IPL 2024 with the English Cricket Board managing his schedule. Atkinson was about to play his first IPL. After Atkinson’s withdrawal, apart from Chameera, Mitchell Starc is the only overseas frontline quick in the KKR squad. Kolkata Knight Riders bought Starc for a record price of Rs 24.75 crore.

While Chameera will be an additional strength for KKR, the Sri Lanka pacer is injured at this moment. However, according to Sri Lanka’s team manager Mahinda Halangoda, “He’s feeling better now, but we won’t know for sure the exact nature of his injury until we hear back from the specialist,”

Sri Lanka Cricket Clarifies Wanindu Hasaranga and Dushmantha Chameera’s World Cup Squad Status in Official Statement on Friday (November 24).Both players were initially considered for the World Cup squad, with Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) expressing optimism about their recovery for the later stages of the tournament. However, the surprise exclusion of both from the final squad raised eyebrows, especially as they were part of the provisional squad.

Subsequently, Chameera was brought in as an injury replacement for Lahiru Kumara. The recent statement from SLC sheds light on the behind-the-scenes actions during the World Cup squad selection. According to the released statement, SLC had intended to include both Hasaranga and Chameera but faced resistance from the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs.

Sri Lanka Cricket’s Allegations Against the Ministry of Sports:

The statement revealed, “Following the selection meeting, on the same day, Sri Lanka Cricket sent the squad seeking approval of the National Sports Selection Committee, which comes under the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs. In response, the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs sent a letter to Sri Lanka Cricket on September 26, 2023, seeking medical clearance to approve the inclusion of Wanindu Hasaranga, Dushmantha Chameera, and Dilshan Madushanka.”

SLC had planned to send the injured players to India with the intention of playing them at a later stage in the tournament after their recovery. However, this plan was thwarted by the Sri Lankan ministry, which insisted on medical clearance for the players.

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In addition to addressing the squad selection issue, Sri Lanka Cricket accused the Ministry of Sports of providing misleading information about the utilization of the National Sports Fund. The release stated discrepancies between the documents obtained by SLC and the media release by the ministry, pointing out that the ministry had spent money on 67 activities instead of the 47 mentioned in their media release on November 13, 2023.

Sri Lanka’s quest for a semi-final spot in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup faces a new challenge as key bowler Lahiru Kumara is sidelined for the rest of the competition.Kumara sustained a left thigh injury during a training session in Pune before the crucial game against Afghanistan at MCA International Stadium on Monday. He has been substituted by another fast bowler, Dushmantha Chameera.

The Event Technical Committee green-lighted Chameera’s inclusion on Sunday. The seasoned right-arm pacer might be considered to fill Kumara’s shoes in the upcoming game against Afghanistan.

Even though Chameera boasts over 100 caps for Sri Lanka, Kumara’s absence will be deeply felt, especially after his significant role in Sri Lanka’s surprise win over England in Bengaluru the previous week.In that game, Kumara claimed crucial wickets, including England’s captain Jos Buttler and all-rounders Ben Stokes and Liam Livingstone. Overall, he has taken five wickets in four tournament games.

With Chameera’s entry, Sri Lanka has made a total of three changes to their initial 15-member team since the World Cup began. Earlier, Chamika Karunaratne and Angelo Mathews joined the squad due to injuries to captain Dasun Shanaka and Matheesha Pathirana.

Presently, Sri Lanka has secured two victories in five World Cup matches and holds the fifth position in the group rankings, with four more games to go.

Sri Lanka’s team includes: Kusal Mendis (captain), Kusal Perera, Pathum Nissanka, Dushmantha Chameera, Dimuth Karunaratne, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage, Kasun Rajitha, Angelo Mathews, Dilshan Madushanka, Dushan Hemantha, and Chamika Karunaratne.

Right-arm fast bowler Kasun Rajitha has replaced fellow speedster Dushmantha Chameera, who suffered a grade two tear in the calf of his left foot, in Sri Lanka’s T20 World Cup squad. Rajitha, who last played a T20I in October 2019. In Sri Lanka and will travel to Australia as soon as possible. In addition to Chameera, batter Danushka Gunathilaka has also been ruled out of the T20 World Cup due to a hamstring tear. 

Ashen Bandara, one of the travelling reserves, will replace him. Gunathilaka had missed the match on Tuesday. Chameera winced and walked out of the field after bowling. The last over of his spell in Sri Lanka’s win over UAE. The injury is connected to his ankle and calf issue that kept him out of the Asia Cup last month. Arjuna de Silva, head of SLC’s medical advisory committee, confirmed that Chameera will be undergoing ankle surgery.

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Kasun Rajitha will fly to Australia from Sri Lanka as soon as possible

“The previous injuries were on the anterior part of the ankle, but this is in the calf. It’s a grade-two tear.” Rajitha was called up to the T20I squad for the home series against Sri Lanka in June but did not get a game. He then picked up a sole wicket in three outings for SLC Blues in the SLC Invitational League in August, which was his last T20 outing. His last international match, though, was the Test against Pakistan in July this year.

Meanwhile, Tymal Mills has replaced Reece Topley, who injured his left ankle, as a like-for-like in England’s squad. Topley had suffered the injury after standing on the boundary cushion during a fielding drill ahead of England’s warm-up match against Pakistan. Chameera winced and walked out of the field after bowling. The last over of his spell in Sri Lanka’s win over UAE. The injury is connected to his ankle and calf issue that kept him out of the Asia Cup last month.

Dushmantha Chameera has been ruled out of Sri Lanka’s final Group A match against Netherlands, a match they will almost certainly need to win in order to qualify for the Super 12s stage of the World Cup. Chameera claimed 3 for 15 in a thumping win over UAE that has increased Sri Lanka’s chances of progression, but was unable to finish his spell after pulling up with a calf injury. It was later confirmed by Professor Arjuna de Silva, who oversees Sri Lanka’s medical operations, that Chameera would miss the Netherlands game, with his participation in the rest of the tournament in doubt.

There are also concerns over Danushka Gunathilaka, who missed the UAE game, and Pramod Madushan, with both due to go for scans on hamstring injuries, although Sri Lanka’s medical team are hopeful the latter’s is not too serious. The loss of Chameera and, potentially, Madushan is a blow after Sri Lanka’s bowlers dominated the match against UAE. Dismissing the opposition for 73 inside 18 overs. There remain concerns over the side’s batting after they collapsed from 117 for 3 in the 15th over to only post 152 for 8.

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Clouds over Sri Lankan side as their experienced pacer ruled out before decider match

Having also put up a poor batting performance against Namibia. Sri Lanka’s middle order go into the last match of the qualifying stage significantly short of runs. For coach Chris Silverwood, this may have something to do with the weather. As temperatures have frequently dipped into the low teens in Geelong over the past two weeks. “The temperatures we’re experiencing, the boys are not used to,” Silverwood said. “It’s certainly not Colombo. Even I’m cold, a little bit. You can’t help it. The preparation and facilities we were given having arrived early, were superb.

The boys have prepped the best we possibly can. We had a good camp in Kandy before we got on an airplane and came here. We’ve made the best of what we’ve had really.” The bowlers, at least, put in a complete performance on Tuesday. Seamers Chameera and Madushan decked the top order, before the spinners ripped out UAE’s middle- and lower-order batters.

Royal Challengers Bangalore’s head coach Simon Katich has stepped down from his role citing personal reasons. The Australian joined the RCB ranks in late 2019 and was at the helm during the first leg of the IPL earlier this year.
Mike Hesson, director of cricket operations at the franchise, will take over for the remainder of the IPL, which begins in the UAE next month.

Royal Challengers Bangalore on Saturday announced that their head coach Simon Katich has stepped down due to personal reasons in the lead up to the resumption of Indian Premier League 2021. The IPL will resume from September 19 in the UAE.
Confirming Katich’s exit, Rajesh Menon, vice-president, and head, RCB, said on Saturday: “Simon Katich has decided to step down mainly due to personal reasons. We as management completely support his decision. We would like to thank him for his work at RCB and wish him all the success for the future. As per the (franchise’s) business continuity plan, Mike Hesson will step in and discharge the duties of head coach until the end of this tournament.

Director of Cricket Mike Henson will double as the head coach until the end of the IPL 2021 season. The announcement was made when Henson interacted virtually with the press on Saturday, which was also Simon Katich’s 45th birthday.

The former Australia opener had played a key role in reviving the fortunes of RCB over the last 2 years. After coming onboard along in 2020, Katich oversaw the team’s preparations as the head coach while Henson was roped in as the Director of Cricket. Under Katich, RCB reached the play-offs in IPL 2020 — the first time they managed to do so since 2016.

RCB was in a strong position, having won 7 out of their first 10 matches in the IPL 2021 season before it was suspended in May following positive Covid-19 cases in the bio-bubbles of multiple franchises in Ahmadabad and New Delhi. RCB was at the 3rd spot on the 8-team points table.

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With a few of their New Zealand and Australian players either on national duty or opting out, RCB has roped in the Sri Lankan duo of Wanindu Hasaranga and Dushmantha Chameera. The arrival of the 24-year-old Hasaranga will augur well for the Bengaluru-based franchise as the leg-spinner is among the top-ranked T20 bowlers on the ICC charts. The 29-year-old Chameera will add to the pace strength of the Virat Kohli-led squad.

Lankans on Board for IPL.

“We’ve replaced Adam Zampa with Hasaranga and are delighted to have him on board. He offers us some balance from the wrist spin point of view and also plenty of batting capabilities. Chameera is also bowling well at the moment. He’s got genuine pace and his white-ball game has developed significantly,” pointed out Hesson.

Speaking about the changes in the team, Hesson revealed, “Some significant changes in our playing squad. Finn Allen and Scott Kuggeleijn have been selected for New Zealand tours, and they won’t be part of RCB. Kane Richardson has made himself unavailable, as has Daniel Sams. Therefore, the balance of our squad has changed dramatically. So, we’ve gone about making purchases during the replacement window 4-5 days ago.

Also coming into the squad is the Singapore-born Tim David in place of Allen, “We have strengthened our middle-order possibilities. Tim David, a power player who could become a straight swap for either (Glenn) Maxwell or AB de Villiers if required. It gives us other options if required and he’s also performed in the subcontinent in recent times,” Hesson added.
The Indian players in the RCB line-up along with the support staff assembled in Bengaluru on Saturday for a seven-day quarantine.
“The team will depart via a chartered flight on August 29. Once we land in the UAE, we will have another six-day hard quarantine and the testing protocol as per BCCI,” explained Menon.