Asia Cup T20 Cricket: Injury worries increase as India gear up against Sri Lanka today

Injuries to key players such as skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Rohit Sharma is giving them the jitters but India would still be firm favourites when they take on a depleted and struggling Sri Lanka in their penultimate league encounter of the Asia Cup Twenty20 cricket tournament, in Mirpur on Tuesday.

Despite injuries, India have the edge against the island nation, whom they beat 2-1 in a recent home series. The reason being a possible injury to Lankan 

captain and primary strike 

bowler Lasith Malinga, 

whose knee problem has again flared up and has put his further participation in the tournament in doubt. For the record, India has won seven out of the eight games they have played this year.

After the Pakistan game, the possibility of a new opening combination cannot be totally ruled out. It could well be Parthiv Patel walking alongside Rahane, in case both Rohit and Shikhar are ruled out of the Lanka tie.

Harbhajan Singh and Pawan Negi will have to sit out unless Ravi Shastri and Dhoni are in a mood to experiment, which has not been the case so far.

For Sri Lanka, which has been hit hard by the retirements of legends, the injury to skipper Malinga comes as a big blow — more so after their 23-run loss at the hands of Bangladesh, which has seriously jeopardised their chances of qualifying for the final.

Squads:

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Ashish Nehra, Ajinkya Rahane, Harbhajan Singh, Pawan Negi, Parthiv Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Sri Lanka: Lasith Malinga (captain), TM Dilshan, Dinesh Chandimal, Shehan Jayasuriya, Angelo Mathews, Chamara Kapugedara, Nuwan Kulasekara, Dasun Chanaka, Dushmantha Chameera, Milinda Siriwardana, Rangana Herath, Niroshan Dickwella, Thisara Perera, Jeffrey Vandersay, Sachithra Senanayeke.

Match starts 7pm (IST).