Angelo Mathews

Mumbai: Captain Angelo Mathews feels Sri Lanka cannot be complacent against India even though the hosts are without Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who has been rested for the first three ODIs.

“Dhoni is a pillar of strength to the Indian team. We all know what a dangerous player he is. 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,” said Mathews, on the eve of his team’s tour match with India A, here.

“India have a very well-balanced team. They have good batsmen, 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… His absence could be a factor…” he added.

Mathews emphasised that this tour would help some of the younger players and also act as a guide in getting the right combination before the World Cup in February-March next year. “We started our preparation from the Pakistan tour. We are trying to get the combinations, the best XV 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.

Sri Lanka have not done well in previous bilateral series in India and the all-rounder hopes for a reversal of fortunes this time around. “Preparations aside, we will try to play our best cricket and win against India. Our past experience have not been so good in India, so we will try and somehow get it right this time,” he said.

Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath has been rested, while pacer Lasith Malinga is injured. However, their absence will provide the youngsters to make a mark, Mathews pointed out.

“Rangana is one our most experienced guys, but we wanted to give an opportunity to the younger players. We have players like Seekkuge Prasanna, Chaturanga De Silva and Suraj Randiv.

“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 and we all will learn from this tour.”

According to coach Maravan Atapattu, Sri Lanka needed to work on certain areas to improve as a team. “It is easier for me to say all areas but specifically, if we can get our fielding up a bit more, I think that will be good. Bowling is another area that demands a lot of skill these days with so many restrictions.

“If the others in our batting line-up, excluding the two seniors (Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene) and the captain, can shoulder the workload a bit, then I think we can certainly do better,” the former Sri Lankan opener said.

Like Mathews, Atapattu too iterated it wouldn’t be wise for the players to put pressure on themselves to win the series in India. Instead, Sri Lanka would be looking at the bigger picture.

“A tour of India is a major challenge for any team and for any captain. To put huge pressure on ourselves to win is not that wise, especially at this stage. We know that if everyone is fit, 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 we can expect from the players who are taking part or what their abilities are.

“We have about 20 matches between now and the World Cup. That’s about the number of ODI games some teams play in a year. The challenge is to peak at the right time.” (PTI)