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Sri Lankas Skipper Dasun Shanaka Eyes Massive Opportunity Against Inexperienced India

Sri Lanka's skipper Dasun Shanaka eyes massive opportunity against inexperienced India

Sri Lanka have been on a downward trend for the last many years apart from some remarkable performances few and far in between but their new skipper Dasun Shanaka is very confident of his side’s chances in the series against India starting tomorrow in Colombo

Pointing out to the lack of international experience in the India side, who have landed in the island nation for a three-match ODI and an equally long T20 series under the leadership of Shikhar Dhawan, Shanaka said that both sides will start the series “evenly” and they have equal chances.

“Both teams will start evenly because even they have got new players coming up. We all know they (the Indian players) have played the IPL, but still (not many) have played international cricket. Both teams have even chances,” Shanaka said.

Moreover, he downplayed the lack of experience in his side after Sri Lanka named a quite inexperienced side to take on India. He said that the presence of rookies in the side makes India’s job difficult as they have not had the experience of playing against them.

“We will have a slight advantage because they have not seen these guys at the international level. I feel they have to prepare well for these youngsters,” Shanaka said.

However, he did not belittle the Indian side without many of their superstars and said that the series against them will be the one to give perfect exposure to Sri Lankan youngsters. He called India one of the top teams in the world for the level of cricket they have been playing and said that the home side will try to achieve as much as they can.

“The experience will be very good, playing against one of the top teams in the world. It will be very good to play against India at this point because we can access the levels we are in. It will be a good tournament for us,” Shanaka added.

Apart from the slide in on-field performances, Sri Lanka cricket has also captured headlines due to off-field issues such as players breaching Covid-19 protocols in England and a payment tussle between the board and players. However, Shanaka downplayed the effects of off-field matters on the performance of the players.

“It is always challenging. In international cricket, outside (off the field) issues do matter, but at the end of the day, we have to get there and perform as a team. That's the main concern we have. I am sure the boys will look on to it,” he said.

Shanaka has been appointed as the captain of the side for the ODI series against India in the absence of Kusal Perera, who has been ruled out due to an injury.

The ODI series between Sri Lanka and India is slated to start on July 18 at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

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