Sri Lanka step into new era after Sangakkara, Jayawardene exit

Sri Lanka’s cricket captain Angelo Mathews (L) and his Pakistani counterpart Misbah-ul-Haq shake hands next to the series trophy during a news conference in Colombo June 12, 2015. Pakistan and Sri Lanka will play three tests, five ODIs and two T20 matches - Reuters/Dinuka Liyanawatte

The start of this cricket summer for Sri Lanka is going to be special, in that the country will step into a new era without two of their all-time iconic cricketers, both of whom bid the game adieu.

The batting duo shouldered the team’s hopes for over a decade and a half and their departure following the Pakistan series last year is bound to leave a big hole not only in the team’s batting but also in the larger scheme of things.

Coaching the Sri Lankan team is Sangakkara and Jayawardene’s former team-mate and captain Marvan Atapattu, and he would know how big a challenge it will be for the team to carry on from where the two legends left.

“We are getting into a new era without the two big guns Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara,” Atapattu told The Nation. It’s a new challenge for young players in different slots and hopefully they will grab the opportunities and hang in there for a long time,” Atapattu said.

Another worry for Sri Lanka is their dropping fielding standards that once used to be the best in the subcontinent. To address that, they roped in Jonty Rhodes for a fielding camp. And Atapattu believes tips from the former South African livewire should come in handy.

“Jonty Rhodes coming to Sri Lanka doesn’t mean that we are going to hold onto every catch that comes our way. What we expected from Jonty was to give us new tips and techniques so that we can improve our players and to work on them, which we are doing through our local coaches who are capable,” the Lankan coach said.

And Atapattu is not worried about not having an express bowler in his ranks.

“We don’t have anybody who bowls at 150kph at the moment, but you really don’t have to. You don’t need to be fast to trouble a batsman. We are more equipped in our unit to combat situations,” he opined.

The first Test of the three-match series begins 17 June in Galle.

Mathews confident he has the best squad to face Pakistan

Sri Lanka Captain Angelo Mathews believes that he has gotten one of the best squads with a combination of youth and experience to take on Pakistan with confidence in the upcoming series which starts in Galle on Wednesday.

He said this at a media conference to announce the tour on Saturday.

He also went on to say that he was happy about the squad. It’s a combination of youth and experience and they are expecting to play some good cricket.

Pakistan is a difficult team to beat in any part of the world but he believed that Sri Lanka had enough to beat them this time around.