Kusal Mendis was tested positive for COVID-19 and was out of the ongoing series against team Australia. Having recovered from the COVID-19, Mendis will be joining the team today, on Tuesday ( 15th February) for the selections, for the remaining games in this series.
Kusal Mendis can possibly be available for the 3rd T20 which is set to begin on February 15 at 7:10 pm (local) since he has recovered and also passed the medical clearance process.
On Tuesday morning, the prime all-rounder for team Sri Lanka, Wanindu Hasaranga was tested positive for COVID-19 after the management tested the players with RAT before the game. Binura Fernando too has bene tested positive for COVID-19 since February 12, Saturday. Both the players are under isolation and will be recovered soon. Hasaranga has been officially ruled out for the remaining games though.
With Hasaranga not in the squad, Kusal Mendis have high chances to get his name in the playing XI but post-COVID recovery can still be a question for the coach and the selectors. With the series dominated by Australia by far, Sri Lanka have to win this game to keep the motivation alive else the 5-match series will be left with disinterested fans and game viewers.
The first T20 seemed to have been rewarded to the visitors as they restricted team Australia in the first innings at the score of 149 but were not able to achieve the easy target.
The second T20 was incredibly interesting to watch as Sri Lanka matched the target of 164 runs, forcing the game into a Super Over, which the hosts eventually won. In the Super Over, Sri Lanka barely managed to score 5 runs, which the hosts chased down in the first three deliveries.
