Atapattu misses South Africa series

Marvan Atapattu has not recovered from his back injury © Getty Images

Marvan Atapattu will miss the Test series against South Africa, as well as the triangular series involving India, as he continues to recover from the back injury which ruled him out of the recent tour of England.

He has been out of action since March and underwent surgery in Australia in May in a bid to cure the problem. Mahela Jayawardene took over the captaincy with great success in England, where Sri Lanka drew the Test series and won the one-day series 5-0, and will retain the position for the start of the home season. Atapattu is targeting the Champions Trophy, in October, as a return date.

"Marvan has returned from Australia after attending to his back injury but needs time to rehabilitate himself and strengthen his back," Ashantha De Mel, the chairman of selectors, told Sri Lanka's Sunday Times. "He is very eager to get back on the field. However, we do not want to rush him back into the team until he is 100% fit.

Meanwhile, Muttiah Muralitharan has said that Sri Lanka are keen to avenge their 6-1 thrashing to India last year when the one-day tournament gets underway, following the two-Test series against South Africa. "We have shown our strength by winning the series against England last month. We had played extremely well against them. We are also keen to take revenge for our loss on Indian soil last season."

"We will be able to win the tri-series since we enjoy home conditions. We definitely have an edge over India and South Africa."

The first Test against South Africa begins on July 27, with the second starting on August 4.