Skipper Lasith Malinga is hopeful the recent defeat in India will prove a valuable lesson for Sri Lanka’s young cricketers.
The visitors suffered a disappointing 2-0 series defeat at the start of the month. They lost the second and third games in Pune and Indore after the first fixture in Guwahati was hot by poor weather conditions.
“They can bat and they can hit shots. But they’ve to learn to build an innings. That, we are lacking. Last one and half/two years, we didn’t have that luxury,” Malinga told the Hindustan Times.
“Previously, we had Sanga (Kumara Sangakkara), Mahela (Jayawardane) and Dilshan – they knew how to build an innings.
“The young players are talented, they want to play their shots, but sometimes they have to be calm and handle the situation. That part is lacking,” added the Sri Lankan skipper.
“When I was captain in 2014, I had Mahela, Sanga, Angelo (Mathews), Dilshan, we had lots of experienced players who were match-winners, they knew what they needed to do.
“Now, players are not experienced and I have to guide them and I have to wait and see,” he said.
Sri Lanka are currently priced at 26.00 (25/1) with bet365 to win the T20 World Cup in Australia.
Malinga happy to shoulder the blame for the defeat
Captain Malinga is also happy to take on the burden of defeat as Sri Lanka continue to progress towards the world cup.
He added: “We lost 2-0. I have to perform well because I have experience playing T20 cricket, but I didn’t get a single wicket in this tournament
“I am the most experienced player in the team in T20s. Yes, I have the pressure to get wickets because I am a wicket-taking bowler, but I feel if we want to win the match we have to get one-two wickets early in first six overs, we didn’t get that in this tournament,”
“The top order is important and Indian top order got good partnerships. Partnership is important in T20 game. Because people are thinking it is 20 overs, like we have to hit every single ball.
“Going forward, I am looking forward to getting my job done. I can’t give excuse to others as I have wicket-taking variations, skills.
“I have experience of playing franchise cricket but, at the end of the day, in this tournament, I did not do anything for the team.”
