Sri Lanka spinner Maheesh Theekshana ruled out of Asia Cup final against India

Sri Lanka have suffered an injury blow ahead of the Asia Cup final against India on Sunday with spinner Maheesh Theekshana ruled out due to injury.

Theekshana, 23, strained his right hamstring while sliding near the boundary in Sri Lanka's victory over Pakistan and needed treatment from the physio.

He bowled three more overs before being helped off the field during his team's thrilling two-wicket win on Thursday.

Sahan Arachchige has been called up as his replacement for the final in Colombo, where Sri Lanka will aim to retain their title.

Theekshana will “definitely be ready” for next month's 50-over World Cup in India, which starts on October 5, according to Professor Arjuna de Silva, chairman of Sri Lanka Cricket's medical committee.

“The MRI scan is showing a tear – not a big tear,” he said. “Clinically, Theekshana is OK. He's moving around and not feeling too much pain.

“If we didn't have a World Cup coming up, we would have somehow tried to get him ready for tomorrow's match. But we don't want to take that risk.”

Sunday's final sees Rohit Sharma's India face underdogs Sri Lanka with both teams gearing up for next month's World Cup.

The cricketing giants have 13 Asian titles between them and Sri Lanka have a history of sneaking into the tournament's final – to the consternation of fans keen for any showdown between arch-rivals India and Pakistan.

Bangladesh ended India's unbeaten run in the 50-over tournament after edging them out by six runs in Friday's last Super Four match.

Shubman Gill hit 121 but his knock went in vain after India faltered in their chase of 266 in Colombo.

“I don't think it has broken our momentum,” Gill told reporters after the narrow defeat.

“We have played good cricket. Sometimes it happens