Sri Lankan team has already made it clear that they are not fully prepared for the five-match ODI series and setting sight on a ‘bigger picture’ rather than one-dayers, starting November 2.
The Islanders were on fitness programme when the Sri Lanka board agreed to play a short series on BCCI’s request, after the departure of West Indies abruptly.
Lanka coach Marvan Atapattu is not setting high sights in the series and termed the series challenging, despite playing against men in blue on a number of occasions lately.
“A tour of India is a major challenge for any team and for any captain,” Atapattu said. “To put huge pressure on ourselves to win is not that wise, at this stage. We know that if everyone is fit, that our World Cup team will be different.”
“So with that in mind, we’ll be thinking about who can be a part of the team going forward, and what individual players can get out of it.”
“We play every game to win, but with that, we’re also looking at the bigger picture. Like what can we expect from the players who are taking part? What is their ability? We have about 20 matches between now and the World Cup.”
“That’s about the number of ODI games some teams plays in a year. The challenge is to peak at the right time. Because we have 20 matches to go, we shouldn’t become too concerned just yet.”
The Lankan team will be playing India at Barabati Stadium, Cuttack in the first ODI, before facing India A in a practice game in Mumbai.
