India, Feb. 18 -- T20 World Cup 2026 co-hosts Sri Lanka suffered a big blow to their campaign at home as star seamer Matheesha Pathirana was ruled out of the remainder of the tournament after sustaining a muscle strain during the team's match against Australia in Pallekele on Monday night.

Pathirana, known for his distinctive singing bowling action, has been an injury-prone bowler during his playing career, and his absence will be a big miss for a Sri Lankan team who have leveraged their expertise at home to become true dark horses for the World Cup.

Sri Lanka were good enough to beat Australia in a dramatic game thanks to Pathum Nissanka's century, and will be hoping to use that momentum heading into the Super 8 stage. However, Pathira...