INJURED MUTTIAH MURALITHARAN OUT OF ICC WORLD TWENTY20

Muralitharan receiving treatment before last Friday's game

Muttiah Muralitharan has been ruled out of the remainder of the ICC World Twenty20 after injuring his groin in Sri Lanka's defeat by New Zealand.

Team physio Tommy Simsek said the star spin bowler, aged 38, had strained his right adductor (thigh) muscle and would need up to three weeks' rest.

Sri Lanka must beat Zimbabwe on Monday to have any chance of progressing to the last eight of the tournament.

No replacement for Muralitharan has been named by Sri Lanka's management.

Muralitharan has more international wickets than any cricketer, with 792 in 132 Tests and 512 in 334 limited-overs internationals. He has 13 wickets in 10 T20 internationals with an impressive average of 18.46 and an economy rate of 6.15. 606: DEBATE

How will Sri Lanka fare without Muralitharan?
He took 2-25 in an exciting tournament opener against New Zealand on Friday, and put Sri Lanka's opponents on the back foot until a late burst of scoring by Jacob Oram and Nathan McCullum gave New Zealand an unlikely victory.

The relatively inexperienced off-spinner Suraj Randiv, 25, with nine one-day internationals behind him, could make his debut in Twenty20 internationals on Monday.

But should Sri Lanka make the last eight, they will be expected to seek a fresh recruit to replace Muralitharan in their 15-man squad.