Sri Lanka’s Sooriyabandara made his international debut today as a concussion substitute for the injured Dinesh Chandimal during the fourth day of the first Test against India. In the fourth over of India’s second innings, Chandimal dived near the boundary line to save a couple of runs for his team.
In the process, he hurt himself, tumbling over completely with the weight of his whole body landing on his neck. Chandimal was seen holding his neck as he walked off and was also taken to hospital for a precautionary scan. Sri Lanka Cricket later confirmed there was no major injury concern, but he was ruled out after the doctor assessed him for concussion.
This opened the door for the 26-year-old Pasindu to make his debut in the game. He batted in the second innings at No.3 only to bag a golden duck. He was trapped plumb in front of the stumps by Manav Suthar as India overturned the on-field decision to send back the concussion sub.
Earlier in the day, he had taken an athletic catch to send back Ravindra Jadeja, but that time as a sub and not a part of the official 12.
Pasindu featured in the warm-up game for SLC XI last week, batting at number three to score 35 and 4 runs across two innings. He boasts a brilliant first-class record, averaging a stunning 54.36 in 68 FC matches, having amassed 4,893 runs with 14 centuries and 23 fifties, with 242 being his highest score.
He also scored an unbeaten 204 in March this year in the Major League Tournament, a domestic competition in Sri Lanka, for Moors Sports Club.
Sooriyabandara has joined a select list of players to make their debut as a concussion substitute. He is the fifth player in the format to do so in Tests after Brian Mudzinghanyama (Zimbabwe), Khaya Zondo (South Africa), Matt Parkinson (England), and Bahir Shah (Afghanistan).
Overall, including men’s and women’s cricket across all formats, Sooriyabandara is the 14th player to make his debut as a concussion substitute.
Players to make their debut as a concussion substitute Player Format Match Date Team Opposition Replaced player Pasindu Sooriyabandara Test 2026-08-15 Sri Lanka India Dinesh Chandimal Harshit Rana T20I 2025-01-31 India England Shivam Dube Tasmia Rubab WT20I 2024-09-18 Pakistan Women South Africa Women Fatima Sana Tshering Choden WT20I 2024-07-08 Bhutan Women Singapore Women Tshering Zangmo Hollie Armitage WT20I 2024-03-24 England Women New Zealand Women Sarah Glenn Lindokuhle Mabhero WT20I 2023-12-09 Zimbabwe Women Kenya Women Kellies Ndhlovu Bahir Shah Test 2023-06-14 Afghanistan Bangladesh Hashmatullah Shahidi Kamran Ghulam ODI 2023-01-13 Pakistan New Zealand Haris Sohail Matt Parkinson Test 2022-06-02 England New Zealand Jack Leach Khaya Zondo Test 2022-04-08 South Africa Bangladesh Sarel Erwee Neil Rock ODI 2022-01-08 Ireland West Indies Andy McBrine Glenda Menes WT20I 2021-11-22 Kuwait Women Bhutan Women Rida Zainab Brian Mudzinganyama Test 2020-01-19 Zimbabwe Sri Lanka Kevin Kasuza Tatiana Cerdes WT20I 2019-12-14 Costa Rica Women Belize Women Genesis DiazFollow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
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