Angelo Mathews, the Sri Lanka captain, said upon arriving in India on Wednesday (October 29), that his team wasn’t unwilling to take part the upcoming five-match One-Day International series in India, but reiterated that their lack of preparation placed them at a disadvantage.
Sri Lanka’s tour of India wasn’t originally on the agenda, but the Board of Control for Cricket in India turned to Sri Lanka Cricket to fill the gap after West Indies cut short their tour.
Mathews said that despite the suddenness of the tour, it was important for the Sri Lankan players to take it in their stride. “It’s not that we are reluctant to play a series. It is, however, not the ideal preparation for a tour like India,” said Mathews ahead of the Sri Lankans’ warm-up match against India A, to take place on Thursday in Mumbai. “We know that India is a tough place to play cricket and you need your preparation on a high to play the series against India in India. In the past one-and-half months we were focusing on our fitness a lot, and suddenly this tour came up, so we had to take it.
“After the Pakistan series (in August) we had a couple of months off. We had about ten days’ complete rest and then started our physical fitness because we had been playing right through. We were planning on hitting our peak levels during the English tour (in late November) but this was a sudden shift. And as players, you need to take those in a positive way. These things happen and, as players, you need to adapt to those situations and get the maximum out of it.”
Looking at the positive side of things, Mathews suggested that the tour would allow Sri Lanka to try out different combinations ahead of the 2015 World Cup, to be played in Australia and New Zealand early next year. “We are trying to get the combinations, the best 15 for the World Cup, so we will give opportunities to the guys and get the combinations right. At the same time we will try to win as well,” he said.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be conspicuous by his absence from the Indian team after he was rested for the first three ODIs, with Virat Kohli stepping in as captain. “Dhoni is a pillar of strength to the Indian team. We all know what a dangerous player he is,” pointed out Mathews. “If he is not in the Indian team then the opposition might think ‘hang on, we have got a chance here’. But you can’t be complacent against a team like India.
“They have a very well-balanced team. They have good batters, good bowlers and good fielders, so we can’t be complacent thinking that Dhoni is not around. But definitely Dhoni is a big factor in the Indian team.”
Sri Lanka will be without a couple of experienced players themselves, with both Rangana Herath and Lasith Malinga missing from their squad, the latter because of an ankle injury.
Mathews said it was an ideal opportunity for the youngsters to stake a claim for a regular place in the side. “Herath is one our most experienced guys but we wanted to give an opportunity to the younger guys,” he said. “We have players like Seekkuge Prasanna, Chathuranga De Silva and Suraj Randiv. Lasith Malinga, unfortunately, is not fit so he was not in contention for selection, but those two are the backbone of our bowling line-up. We don’t have many experienced guys on this tour and we all know that this is a very hard place to play cricket. We all will learn from this tour.
“It is easier for me to say all areas (need improvement) but specifically if we can get up to a bit more in our fielding, I think that will be good. Bowling is another area that demands a lot of skill these days with so much of restrictions. If the others in our batting line-up, excluding the two seniors (Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene) and the captain, can take the burden a bit then I think we can do better.”a
Mathews hopes to get maximum out of tour
