Dilshan to miss first Test vs New Zealand

Dilshan to miss first Test vs New Zealand

Sri Lanka vs New Zealand

Sri Lanka Experienced all-rounder and opening batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan will miss the first test against New Zealand starting on Saturday at Galle Stadium,due to a persisting back injury.

Dilshan missed the last two matches of the recent one-day series because of the disk-related problem and he has not recovered enough to play a test, captain Mahela Jayawardene said.

Test newcomer  Dimuth Karunaratne has been drafted into the Sri Lankan squad as Dilshan's replacement, and will battle with Tharanga Paranavitana and Dinesh Chandimal for a place in the starting line-up.

Dimuth Karunaratne has represented Sri Lanka in two one-dayers and has a first-class average of 45 with 3,022 career runs.

Former Sri Lanka seam bowler Chaminda Vaas has joined the New Zealand coaching staff to assist the seamers.

Sri Lanka vs New Zealand two-test series

Sri Lanka Team

• Mahela Jayawardene (captain)
• Angelo Mathews
• Dimuth Karunaratne
• Tharanga Paranavitana
• Kumar Sangakkara
• Thilan Samaraweera
• Dinesh Chandimal
• Prasanna Jayawardene
• Suraj Randiv
• Rangana Herath
• Nuwan Kulasekara
• Chanaka Welegedara
• Shaminda Eranga
• Dhammika Prasad
• Tharindu Kaushal

New Zealand Team

• Ross Taylor (captain)
• Todd Astle
• Trent Boult
• Doug Bracewell
• Daniel Flynn
• James Franklin
• Martin Guptill
• Brendon McCullum
• Chris Martin
• Rob Nicol
• Jeetan Patel
• Tim Southee
• Kruger van Wyk
• Neil Wagner
• Kane Williamson