It is understood that Thushara has failed the fitness test made mandatory by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), and has therefore been denied a no-objection certificate (NOC) by his board.

Ashley de Silva, the chief executive of SLC, confirmed to ESPNcricinfo on Friday that Thushara had failed to achieve the pass score of 17 out of the 29 points on offer, across five different metrics, in SLC’s fitness test.

That means Thushara will not be available for at least RCB’s opening game – also the opening game of the season – against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Bengaluru on Saturday, and possibly RCB’s second game, against Chennai Super Kings on April 5, also in Bengaluru. In case he fails the test again, he might not be permitted to play any representative cricket for the foreseeable future. The good news for Thushara, though, is that he is eligible to take another fitness test, but only after a gap of four to five days.

Hasaranga is a part of Lucknow Super Giants, who had acquired him for INR 2 crore at the last auction, while Pathirana went to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for INR 18 crore in the same auction.