Sri Lanka team looks forward to their tour of Australia:
The T20 World Cup next year will be held in Australia and Sri Lanka are determined to make use of their upcoming tour of Australia to its fullest. Sri Lanka plans on utilizing their tour of Australia as their testing ground for their youngsters to prove themselves on Australian grounds. Sri Lanka is set to play a series of 3 T20Is against Australia with the first game taking place on 27th October.
Sri Lanka’s T20I captain Lasith Malinga:
Lasith Malinga said that he is happy that such a young team was able to beat Pakistan, the number one team in the world. Malinga added that it is important for them to show Sri Lanka’s depth of talent but the Australian conditions and wickets will likely be different from Pakistan.
Sri Lanka’s T20I captain said that if they perform well in those conditions, then it will prove beneficial for their World Cup preparations, and if they perform well on the entire tour, then this will be a good chance for those players to make it to the World Cup as well.
Lasith Malinga explained that in T20 cricket it is very important to understand that the decisions need to be taken quickly on the field compared to in 50-over cricket or Test cricket. Malinga said that a match can be won solely by one good decision that a player makes. Malinga added that a player’s decision making is just as important as talent. Lasith Malinga made it clear that they are looking for intelligent players who are capable of winning the game.
Malinga said that they need around 11 to 12 players of this magnitude in their squad and that way they can always have about at least six to seven players capable of winning the matches in key moments. Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Oshada Fernando are the new players, who performed exceptionally well against Pakistan and are also part of Sri Lanka’s squad for Australia. Kusal Mendis, Niroshan Dickwella, Lasith Malinga, and Kusal Janith Perera will also be making their return into the squad.
Sri Lanka coach Rumesh Ratnayake:
Sri Lanka’s coach Rumesh Ratnayake said that Australia is a massive challenge for Sri Lanka, and in cricket, they have been among the best in all formats of the game for the past 2 decades. Rumesh Ratnayake said that the four players coming into the Sri Lankan squad will certainly strengthen their team and they are confident that they can challenge Australia.
Sri Lanka chief selector Ashantha De Mel:
Sri Lanka’s chief selector Ashantha De Mel thinks that winning is important but they are more looking for form. He said that in Pakistan some of the cricketers showed that they were in good form so it is a challenge for the selectors too. Ashantha De Mel explained that aside from the new players who are in form, the returning players have not played cricket for a month, and the selectors will have to take that into account as well, while selecting the final playing eleven.
