Tharanga on the road to recovery

Upul Tharanga, the Sri Lankan opening batsman, is recovering fast from his foot injury but he may not be rushed into the second Test against Bangladesh starting July 3 at the P. Saravanamuttu Stadium in Colombo. He suffered a hairline fracture on his left heel at practice three days before the first Test after he was hit by a yorker from fast bowler Lasith Malinga.

"We won't rule out his availability for the second Test," said Tommy Simsek, the Sri Lankan team physio. "There is no point in rushing him. He may be available but if he rests the second Test as well he will be that much better off.

"Tharanga's improving very quickly. He's got no pain in his foot. We will continue to rest him precautionary wise because the bone will get stronger with each day. We are letting nature take its course. We're doing some very low dose ultra-sound which helps to stimulate bone healing and applying some cream which helps remove bruising as well."

Tharanga was replaced in the squad for the first Test by another left-hander, Michael Vandort, who went on to score a century.