Murali to miss Twenty20 World Cup

Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan has suffered an elbow injury that rules him out of next month's Twenty20 World Championships in South Africa.

"Murali is affected by an elbow injury and he will be out for four to six weeks," Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) secretary Kangadaran Mathivanan was reported to have told British newspapers from Colombo on Wednesday.

"He is definitely out of the Twenty20 (World Championships)."

Muralitharan was injured on Tuesday after bowling 33 overs for Lancashire against Kent and was absent from the attack the following day, making him doubtful for the rest of the four-day game.

Lancashire manager Mike Watkinson told media persons at Canterbury: "Murali's had a scan - and he's got a strain in his bicep. We'll just have to see how that settles down.

"We are waiting for the radiologist to report on it - and then we'll see how we go."