IND vs SL: Double blow to Sri Lanka after loss to India in Galle Test; Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chndimal out of 2nd fixture

In a major blow, Sri Lanka will not get the services of experienced batters Dinesh Chandimal and Kusal Mendis in the second Test against India, which starts on August 23 at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo. The development were confirmed by Sri Lanka head coach Gary Kirsten after their mammoth loss to India in the first Test in Galle on Wednesday.

Mendis will not recover from his hamstring injury in time for the second Test starting on Sunday, adding to the hosts' injury woes. Fellow batter Chandimal suffered a concussion during the first Test which Sri Lanka lost by 165 runs. Chandimal had suffered a concussion while fielding on Tuesday, and had to be replaced by Pasindu Sooriyabandara in the team.

ICC rules automatically rule out a player who has been substituted due to a concussion for seven days. "Kusal Mendis has got a proper hamstring injury, he is not going to be available for a while," Kirsten, who led India to their 2011 ODI World Cup title, told reporters.

Wicketkeeper-batter Mendis suffered the hamstring injury during the Lanka Premier League last month. “Dinesh is not available for the next test, Kusal is not available,” added the former South African cricketer.

Kirsten stated that the absence of the duo will create an opportunity for the players, who warmed the bench in the first game. "So we're missing a few guys from that perspective, but it creates a great opportunity for players to come in and stake their claim," added Kirsten.

Pathum Nissanka unlikely in second Test

Sri Lanka's batting line-up is further weakened by the absence of Pathum Nissanka, who had wrist surgery in June. Although Nissanka is believed to get match fit sooner then Mendis, but is understood to be experiencing discomfort while batting.

The Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is yet to name the squad for the second Test. Despite the defeat, Kirsten was happy to see how his players responded to the demands of five-day cricket. “I'm particularly excited by being involved with Sri Lankan cricket. I think there's some great players here, but the team still needs to develop,” Kirsten said.

It is sometimes tough when you don't play Test match cricket to understand how you need to play that. This is now our third Test match in the space of a couple of months and I can already see the team developing and we're starting to build some shape into the team.

"But we need to be able to turn it into a performance at some point. But as I said, we're kind of building that and developing that as best we can," he said.