Sri Lankan paceman Dushmantha Chameera will return home from England with a lower back injury, his country's cricket board announced Tuesday, compounding the team's woes on the tour. The islanders lost pace bowler Dhammika Prasad to a shoulder injury even before the first Test at Leeds, which England wrapped up inside three days. Even in that innings and 88-run defeat, the 24-year-old Chameera managed to impress by dismissing top scorer Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali and Stuart Broad in England's first innings. "Chameera ... underwent an MRI/CT Scan this morning, which has indicated a stress fracture to his lower back, and medical recommendation is treatment and rest for as much as four months," Sri Lanka Cricket said in a statement. The team would name a replacement soon, it added. Prasad, who has since been replaced by stumper-batsman Kusal Perera, had been undergoing treatment, the board added. The second match of the three-Test series begins at Chester-le-Street Friday. Thakur relishing WI chance Uncapped Shardul Thakur has vowed to do his "homework" on the West Indies after the right-arm pace bowler earned his first India call-up for the Test tour of the Caribbean. The 24-year-old, who has starred for Mumbai in domestic cricket, is the only new face included in India's 17-member squad that will play four Tests in July and August. "Obviously I will speak to the senior players to get an idea about what to expect in the Caribbean," Thakur told the Press Trust of India news agency following the squad announcement Monday. "I will definitely do my homework before leaving for the tour," he added. Thakur has been in scintillating form for Mumbai in India's domestic first-class championship, the Ranji Trophy, taking 89 wickets over the past two seasons. "It is good to see Shardul Thakur being rewarded for bowling his heart out for Mumbai," Indian batting great Sunil Gavaskar told NDTV. Only two changes have been made to the India Test squad that faced South Africa at the end of last year for the tour. Fast bowler Mohammed Shami returns to international cricket for the first time since 2015 after overcoming injury. Right-arm pacer Varun Aaron and all-rounder Gurkeerat Singh Mann drop out. Ace batsman Virat Kohli will captain India, with Ajinkya Rahane acting as his deputy. The dates of the Tests are yet to be finalized.
