Sri Lanka’s new cricket captain Dimuth Karunaratne said that his players want to build a winning mentality before the World Cup begins later this month in England and Wales.
“We have enough time to adjust to English conditions during our preparation period which includes two one day games against Scotland and two practice games against South Africa and Australia,” said Karunaratne.
“We have missed practices due to the unexpected situation in the country but I don’t think it affected our preparations much. I am very confident we have the talent and everyone wants to give their maximum during this World Cup.
“I never expected to be given the captaincy of the World Cup team but after the successful Test series against South Africa I had confidence of a place in the team, especially after the openers had failed to be among the runs in the recent ODIs.
“Cricket is a team game and we have to work together on and off the field. We saw a few exceptional performances from a few players but all the players were in a good mood mixed with high team spirit. We never blamed any player and they supported each other to do what they knew. They understood their responsibilities and it was easy to handle them,” added Karunaratne.
Speaking about the conditions in England he said that it is difficult to field seven batsmen and five bowlers in a match and it was the reason why the selectors have included all-rounders to bring about a balance in the team.
“Former World Cup captain Mahela Jayawardena met the players recently and Karunaratne said they were able to pick up a few tips.
“Apart from the captaincy I have a big challenge to open the innings. We had a bad experience before with two or three wickets falling in quick succession. I have to protect my wicket at one end but at the same time we must maintain a good strike rate to build a good total. I think if we maintain our fitness levels and use our experience we can go far,” said Karunaratne.
“Don’t forget Sri Lanka beat England in their conditions in 2014,” he said.
Sri Lanka will leave for England on May 7.