• Tour commences with T20I series tomorrow

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

Sri Lanka white ball captain Dasun Shanaka

Sri Lanka ODI vice-captain Kusal Mendis

Sri Lanka T20I vice-captain Wanindu Hasaranga

With the 50-over cricket World Cup hosted by India looming in October, both Sri Lanka and India will be making

use of the upcoming three-match ODI series to fine tune and finalise their squads for the mega event.

Prior to the ODIs is the T20I series consisting of three matches which will kick-start the 2023 international cricket season for both sides. The series begins tomorrow at Mumbai with India keen to establish themselves as one of superpower white ball teams, having faltered last year in the Asia Cup losing to Sri Lanka and then being hammered by 10 wickets by England in the T20 World Cup semi-finals.

India has a new T20I captain in all-rounder Hardik Pandya and they have named a T20 squad with several new faces who will be out to prove themselves. India will be still smarting after their defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup final and would go all out to win the series to compensate for that loss.

“Playing against India is always tough, but we played well against them last year. Hopefully we will be looking forward to winning the series,” said Sri Lanka white ball skipper Dasun Shanaka on the eve of their departure to India on Saturday.

“We have done well in all the contests against India, and we also beat them in the Asia Cup final. We know that they will give us a challenge. The side that we have is a good one which has been performing well for quite some time. We are prepared to take them on and win.”

Sri Lanka’s newly appointed ODI vice-captain Kusal Mendis was of the view that on the last tour to India although they played well, they could not win any matches.

“As a team we competed with them and gave them a fight. We have played several matches against India and also recorded victories. The Indians are minus some senior players so if we can win the first match, we can exert a lot of pressure on them.”

Wanindu Hasaranga who has been named vice-captain for the T20I series said: “We know that India is a very good side. In the Asia Cup final, we beat them. Coming straight from the LPL we are quite prepared to take on India. If we can beat them, we can take that confidence forward.”

“Players who performed well in the LPL have been given opportunities. We have a balanced side; I think we can perform well. Players like Sadeera (Samarawickrama) and Nuwanidu (Fernando) have got opportunities because they performed well in the LPL. They are in good nick, with their contributions and those of the rest of the players we can put up a good contest.”

Commenting on the new appointments of vice-captains for the T20I and ODI teams, Shanaka said: “Wanindu did a good job in the LPL, he has got the potential. Kusal has been in the system for some time. We have been discussing a lot before they were appointed vice captains. We got a good understanding between us, and we are looking towards working together.”

The challenge for Sri Lanka will be in the 50-over format where they have yet to make a mark as they have done in T20 cricket. Former Indian captain Gautam Gambhir described the Lankan side as “destructive and dangerous in T20Is” and said that India cannot take them lightly at any stage.

“You can’t win the Asia Cup if you don’t have the talent. They’ve got individual brilliance; they’ve got the combination. They’ve got two world class spinners. How many teams have two world class spinners? (Wanindu) Hasaranga and (Maheesh) Theekshana. They can bowl in different situations as well.”

“Sri Lanka has got players such as Kusal Mendis, Wanindu Hasaranga and Bhanuka Rajapaksa. These players can be destructive and especially in the T20 format.”

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