COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, (Reuters) – Record wicket taker Muttiah Muralitharan will miss the rest of the Twenty20 World Cup after the off-spinner injured his groin in Sri Lanka’s loss to New Zealand.
Team physio Tommy Simsek said Muralitharan had strained his right adductor muscle and would need up to three weeks to recover from the injury, the Sri Lankan cricket board said yesterday.
Sri Lanka must beat Zimbabwe later on Monday (1330 GMT) to have any chance of reaching the super eights stage of the competition after their defeat by New Zealand on Friday.
No replacement for Muralitharan has been named.
Muralitharan has more international wickets than any cricketer, having taken 792 in 132 Tests and a further 512 in 334 limited-overs games for his country.
The 38-year-old has 13 wickets in 10 Twenty20 internationals with an average of 18.46 and an economy rate of 6.15.
He took 2-25 in the losing effort against New Zealand in Guyana.
