COLOMBO, March 20: Sri Lanka coach Tom Moody said the volume of cricket and travel had eventually caught up with captain Marvan Atapattu and he needed rest to recover from a persistent back injury.

“The heavy schedule we got over past six months has caught up with Marvan.

“He is 35 years old and fit as a fiddle but this back pain catches up with him especially with diving around field and all things that he does as a fieldsman, batsman and leader,” said Moody.

“He’s had a history of back problems. It is nothing different from what he’s had in past.” He said Atapattu’s got a bulging disc in his lower back.

“Basically what happens is that when it gets aggravated he gets referred nerve pain.

“The view with Marvan is he was clearly not 100 percent fit in first game.

“He made a tough personal decision to play.”

He pulled out of on-going one-day series and upcoming Test series against Pakistan after aggravating his back during first ODI on Friday.

Sri Lanka is also nursing injuries with Sanath Jayasuriya, Chaminda Vaas and Ruchira Perera.—Agencies