Sri Lanka spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, who left the field early in the World Cup quarter-final win over England on Saturday, is expected to be fit for Tuesday’s semifinal against New Zealand.
Muralitharan, 38, who will retire from international cricket after the tournament, injured the hamstring and bruised his knee in a group match win over the New Zealanders.
“Murali is going to be okay, he pulled up stiff and you know he’s had a tough couple of weeks,” Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara told a news conference. “Hopefully we will have him 100 percent for our next game.”
Sangakkara said several of his players were tired, including Muralitharan and fast bowler Lasith Malinga.
“It is a difficult two-month period but we have to forget that,” he said. “We are playing a World Cup and we have to get ready and be prepared for anything.”
Muralitharan, the leading wicket taker in both Tests and one-day cricket, took two wickets from his nine overs on Saturday and also had Eoin Morgan dropped twice in the same over.
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