Oshada likely to travel on South Africa tour

By Bipin Dani

Sri Lanka's Test opening batsman Oshada Fernando is likely to be fit enough to travel with the national team to South Africa, it is learnt.  
On Saturday, during the Lanka Premier League (LPL) match against the Kandy Tuskers, the 28-year-old right-hand Dambulla Viiking batsman suffered an injury to his ankle when he was trying to take a second run and had to be stretchered off the field with the support of medical staff. 

"Apparently it is a soft tissue injury. Hard tissue injury can affect the bone. To ascertain the player has not ATFL (Anterior Talo-Fibular Ligament) damage, an MRI scan has been performed and we are awaiting the reports,” the source close to the Dambulla team management said. 

Oshada was taken to a private hospital in Galle where he had his MRI done. 

"Our team doctor I. W. U. B. Rambukwella accompanied him in an ambulance to a private hospital in Galle where the on duty radiologist performed MRI tests. During this visit both-doctor and Oshada-had put on PPE kits," one of the sources in Hambantota said.   

"He is likely to miss a few immediate LPL matches, but not the South Africa tour," the source opined.  

It was an optional training day for the Dambulla team and a handful players did go for training on Sunday, it is learnt.

Dambulla will be playing against Jaffna Stallions with Kandy Tuskers against Galle Gladiators in a double-header on Monday.