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Colombo - Sri Lanka left-arm spinner Rangana Herath has been ruled out of the remainder of the five-match one-day cricket series against Pakistan because of continuing problems with his knees.
Herath had keyhole surgery on his knees after the home series against England in February and was fit enough to play in the first two ODIs against Pakistan in Pallakele.
However during the second ODI, which Sri Lanka won by 76 runs to level the series one-all, Herath struggled with his fielding although he bowled his full quota of 10 overs and conceded only 37 runs.
"Bowling was no problem but he was struggling a little bit while fielding," said captain Mahela Jayawardene. "After speaking to the selectors and the medical guys we felt that it's best that he gets some rest before the test series because playing three tests is going to be a long series for him."
Herath will be replaced by another left-arm spinner, Sajeewa Weerakoon, who will make his ODI debut at the age of 34.
"Sajeewa's been around for quite some time in our domestic cricket and he's got a lot of experience," said Jayawardene.
"He's one of those guys who never gives up, a brilliant fighter with lots of experience in local club and league cricket in England, a lot of tours under his belt with the Sri Lanka A team. He's a brilliant guy to have in the squad and he deserves his break."
The third ODI is in Colombo on Wednesday.
