Sri Lanka captain Tillakaratne Dilshan breaks thumb

(GETTY IMAGES)

Captain Tillakaratne Dilshan was today ruled out of the third npower Test at the Rose Bowl, where Sri Lanka will instead be led by Kumar Sangakkara.

Dilshan was unable to bat in the second innings of the second Test at Lord's, having broken his right thumb after two blows on it from England fast bowler Chris Tremlett.

He then sat out the three-day tour match against Essex at Chelmsford, but only today have Sri Lanka accepted the opening batsman will not be fit in time to face England again on Thursday.

Team manager Anura Tennekoon said of Dilshan: "He definitely won't be playing.

"The main reason we've kept him out of this Test match is that, had he played and got another blow while fielding on that thumb, he might have been out for the rest of the tour.

"So as a precautionary measure, we have kept him out."

Former captain Sangakkara, who resigned from the role in Tests and limited-overs matches after this year's World Cup, has therefore been persuaded to take the job on again.