The cricket world is always on the lookout for something special. For the Sri Lanka women’s cricket team, that special something arrives in the form of a 17-year-old girl named Shashini Gimhani. However, as Sri Lanka prepares for the upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 in England and Wales, all eyes were on this young teenage sensation who bowls a rare and difficult art: left-arm wrist spin but is now ruled out.
Right before the team could board their flight to England, Sri Lanka suffered a massive blow when Shashini Gimhani was forced to pull out of the tournament. The 17-year-old mystery spinner picked up a painful lower-back injury during a final training session, shattering her World Cup dreams.
Left-arm wrist spin is one of the hardest bowling styles to master in cricket. Because it is so rare, batters rarely get to practice against it. When Shashini first came into scenes, she grabbed eyeballs with her unusual bowling action. It looks very similar to the famous former South African men’s spinner, Paul Adams, whose action was nicknamed the “frog in a blender.” This unique style makes it incredibly hard for batters to pick which way the ball will turn.
Even though she is very young, Shashini has already made a big mark in cricket. She made her international debut for the senior Sri Lanka team on May 1, 2024, against Uganda when she was just 15 years and 144 days old. This achievement made her the youngest player ever to represent Sri Lanka in senior international cricket. In 7 T20Is, she has taken 6 wickets, with her best bowling performance being an amazing 3 wickets for just 9 runs against Malaysia in the Asia Cup.
With their secret weapon sidelined, the selectors have named right-arm medium-fast bowler Chethana Vimukthi as her replacement. This change completely flips Sri Lanka’s tactical approach; instead of a rare left-arm wrist spinner, they are now bringing in a seam bowler who can exploit the green, swinging English pitches. While the cricketing world will miss the excitement of Shashini’s mystery spin, Vimukthi’s pace gives the bowling attack a highly reliable and completely different way to trouble top-order batters.
At the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026, Sri Lanka will look to improve on their ninth-place finish in the last edition, losing all four of their league games. The task remains uphill; placed in Group 2, they meet England, New Zealand, West Indies, Ireland and Scotland. They open their campaign against hosts England on June 12, playing the curtain-raiser.
Sri Lanka’s Squad for ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026:
Chamari Athapaththu (C), Hasini Perera, Vishmi Gunaratne, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Imesha Dulani, Nilakshika Silva, Kavisha Dilhari, Hansima Karunarathne, Kaushini Nuthyangana, Sugandika Dassanayaka, Nimasha Madushani, Kawya Kavindi, Malki Madara, Mithali Ayodhya, Chethana Vimukthi
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