Sri Lanka have suffered a major injury setback ahead of their upcoming home Test series against India, with white-ball captain Kusal Mendis ruled out of the remainder of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) 2026 due to a hamstring injury. The development has raised concerns over his availability for the two-match Test series scheduled to begin next month.

Mendis sustained the injury while playing for Colombo Kaps during their six-wicket win over Kandy Royals at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) in Colombo on July 19. The wicketkeeper-batter suffered the setback while attempting a run and has since been withdrawn from the tournament to begin rehabilitation under the supervision of Sri Lanka Cricket’s medical team.

Sri Lanka Cricket confirmed that Mendis will return to the National High Performance Centre for his recovery programme. However, the board has not announced a specific timeline for his return, leaving uncertainty over whether he will be fit for the Test series against India, which begins on August 15.

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The injury comes at a crucial time for Sri Lanka, as Mendis is considered one of the team’s most experienced players and plays an important role both as a batter and wicketkeeper. India’s tour of Sri Lanka is part of the 2025-27 ICC World Test Championship cycle, with the first Test scheduled at the Galle International Cricket Stadium before the second match moves to the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo.

Mendis has been in strong form across formats in 2026, making his injury setback particularly significant for Sri Lanka. He started his LPL campaign with an impressive 79 runs off 53 deliveries against Galle Gallants and had previously enjoyed a successful Pakistan Super League season, scoring 550 runs in 11 innings at a strike rate of 168.19.

The 2026 season has also seen Mendis deliver strong performances for Sri Lanka at the international level. He has scored 408 runs in 14 T20I innings at a strike rate of 130.35 and accumulated 211 runs in four ODI innings at an average of 70.33. With the India series approaching, Sri Lanka will closely monitor his rehabilitation as they hope to have one of their key players available for the important Test contests.

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