Former captain Angelo Mathews has a hamstring injury and won't be part of the Sri Lanka squad for its two-Test series in Australia.
Team officials said Wednesday that Mathews tweaked his hamstring during Sri Lanka's tour of New Zealand and that he had been left out of a 16-man squad for Tests in Brisbane and Canberra.
Mathews was Sri Lanka's highest run-scorer in their two-Test series against New Zealand, during which he was dismissed once while scoring 258 runs. After a drawn first Test, New Zealand took the series 1-0 with a 423-run win in the second Test.
Left-hander Kusal Perera has been included in the squad at the expense of opener Danushka Gunathilaka, who scored 16 runs from the two Tests against New Zealand.
Sri Lanka has lost 11 Tests and drawn two in Australia, a country it has been touring since 1988.
Sri Lanka currently holds the Warne-Muralitharan trophy, having beaten Australia 3-0 during a home series in 2016.
The first Test, a day-night match at the Gabba in Brisbane, starts on Jan. 24. The second Test begins at Canberra's Manuka Oval on February. 1.
Sri Lanka will also play a day-night pink ball tour match in Hobart beginning January. 17.
(With AP Inputs)
