Kaushal to replace Murali

Chinthana Wassala

CRICKET: Master spinner Muttiah Muralitharan will not play in Sri Lanka's three remaining games of the five-match one day international series due to a family commitment.

Muralitharan has withdrawn from the current tour of England and the short series in the Netherlands to follow as he is heading back home to join his family after his five-month-old son Naren, who had undergone a surgery in India.

Sri Lanka Cricket announced yesterday that the veteran Sri Lanka cricketer would be replaced by Kaushal Lokuarachchi.

Meanwhile, it was reported that Muralitharan's son has successfully undergone an operation for intussusception at Malar Hospital in Chennai.

Both Muralitharan and his wife Madhi Malar are due to arrive in Chennai today.

English players would be happy to see him out of play for the rest of the series in the Nat West series although he was not threatening as he was in the Test series.

Once again Muralitharan was the key destroyer of the English batting line-up, despite their preparedness to face him having beaten by his magical wrist work in previous matches.