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Warwickshire lose Jayasuriya for Twenty20

21/05/2008

Sanath Jayasuriya will not be able to play for Warwickshire Bears during this season's Twenty20 Cup competition after being called up for international duty.

Sri Lanka have named the opening batsman in their squad for the Asia Cup which is due to start on June 11th – the same day as Warwickshire's first Twenty20 match against Glamorgan.

Jayasuriya is currently playing the Indian Premier League (IPL) after being left out of the Sri Lankan one-day international squad who have just finished a tour of the West Indies.

The 38-year-old is currently the fourth highest run scorer in the IPL, with 356 runs in 11 innings at an average of 39.55 and would have certainly helped the Bears' Twenty20 quest.

Bears' director of cricket Ashley Giles said: "The news regarding Sanath [Jayasuriya] comes out of the blue and is disappointing especially given his recent form in the IPL.

"We will now look to see who might be a suitable replacement for this exciting competition."

Warwickshire may miss the impetus Jayasuriya could have given the side as their one-day form has been poor at the start of this season.

The Bears have only won one of their six Friends Provident matches and are second from bottom in the Midlands division of the competition.

South African bowler Monde Zondeki is the side's other current overseas player.