World Cup 2019: Sri Lankan pacer Nuwan Pradeep ruled out due to chicken pox

The International Cricket Council confirmed Pradeep's ousting on Saturday through a media release

In a major blow to Sri Lanka, pacer Nuwan Pradeep has been ruled out of rest of the World Cup due to chickenpox. The International Cricket Council (ICC) confirmed this development on Saturday through a release. “The ICC has confirmed that the Event Technical Committee of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2019 has approved Kasun Rajitha as a replacement player for Nuwan Pradeep in the Sri Lanka squad for the remainder of the tournament," said the ICC in a release. Pradeep, who took a match-winning four-wicket haul against Afghanistan on June 4, could only play in three out of the seven games Sri Lanka have played so far. His last game was against England on June 21 when Sri Lanka stunned the home team. At the same time, Kasun Rajitha has been named as Pradeep’s replacement. Rajitha has played six Tests, six ODIs and five T20s taking 35 wickets across formats. As far as Sri Lanka's position is concerned, the Island nation lost their last fixture to South Africa by 9 wickets on Friday. Sent in to bat, Sri Lanka produced a dismal batting show to manage a modest 203, a target which the Proteas overhauled with 76 balls in hand. With just six points from seven games, Sri Lanka still have a mathematical chance to be in the semifinals. First, they need to win their last two games against already-eliminated West Indies (on July 1) and India (July 6) and then depend on favourable results from other remaining league stage games.