Chandimal gets injured while fielding, replaced by Sooriyabandara as concussion sub

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Chandimal gets injured while fielding, replaced by Sooriyabandara as concussion sub

Chandimal hurt himself while fielding on the leg-side boundary where he landed hard on his shoulder and tumbled after putting in a dive

Andrew Fidel Fernando

Andrew Fidel Fernando

Updated: Aug 18, 2026, 9:05 AM (19 hrs ago)·Published: Aug 18, 2026
Dinesh Chandimal hurt his right shoulder in the deep, Sri Lanka vs India, 1st Test, Galle, 4th day, August 18, 2026

Dinesh Chandimal hurt his right shoulder and neck in the deep  •  AFP/Getty Images

Sri Lanka‘s Dinesh Chandimal has been replaced by Pasindu Sooriyabandara as a concussion substitute after injuring his shoulder and neck while diving in the deep on the fourth morning of the first Test against India in Galle. Chandimal was taken to hospital for a precautionary scan “which was clear, with no signs of internal injury,” SLC later said.

The concussion replacement was announced towards the end of the second session which makes it a Test debut for Sooriyabandara.

Chandimal had sprinted across from deep midwicket to deep square leg before throwing himself horizontally to intercept the shot from KL Rahul, in the fourth over of India’s second innings. Though he saved two runs, he landed hard on his shoulder and he tumbled legs-over-torso, his neck and shoulder contorting under him.

He immediately collapsed on the other side of the boundary, and appeared to be in serious discomfort as team-mates, the team physiotherapist, and doctor attended to him. He was seen clutching his neck and head at various times, as well as his shoulder.

He eventually got to his feet and walked into the dressing rooms, if quite gingerly. He was replaced by substitute fielder Sooriyabandara on the field. Sooriyabandara later showed a spectacular fielding effort when he put in a full-length dive while running back from square leg to take the catch of Ravindra Jadeja for 8 in the 43rd over.

Sooriyabandara has played 68 first-class matches and has a stellar average of 54.36 with the help of 14 centuries. He had also been part of the side for the West Indies tour and retained his place for this series.

Chandimal had scored just 4 in Sri Lanka’s first innings when they put up 284 in reply to India’s 462, which gave the visitors a lead of 178 runs before the start of the fourth day’s play.

*0905 hrs GMT: The story was updated after Pasindu Sooriyabandara was named the concussion substitute

Andrew Fidel Fernando is a senior writer at Cricinfo. @afidelf