Team manager Asanka Gurusinha says the hosts have to come up with really good plans and execute them on the field to stop the strong Indian batting line-up
Sri Lanka's Upul Tharanga gets ready for a batting session during the team’s tune-up in Galle yesterday. Pic/AFP
Former Sri Lankan wicketkeeper and left-handed opener, Asanka Gurusinha, feels that the game has changed so much over the years that nowadays a little bit of aggression is good for a opener's career.
A veteran of 41 Tests and 147 ODIs, Gurusinha, who is also the manager of the Sri Lankan squad, warned that it is always good to mix caution with aggression when one is playing in the island nation because the ball tends to dart around a bit in the first couple of hours of play.
"The ball tends to move around a bit in the first two hours of play in these conditions here. So if one plays like in a T20 game then a batsman is bound to get out caught in the slips. That's where the commitment and focus from a batsman needs to come through," he said while speaking to mid-day on the eve of the first Test.
Asanka Gurusinha
"Those are my memories of my playing days and that's the reason the openers might struggle. Against Bangladesh, our openers here got hundreds, so it comes down to the mindset what I am going to do in those first two hours," he added.
"I think the game has changed a lot with the advent of T20 cricket. Players now are very aggressive from the start. Modern-day cricketers play so much cricket and in high pressure situations. In our days, if we got 50 or 60 runs in one session, it was a big thing. Nowadays, they get 200-plus easily in the first session, and that's why the scores are going beyond 300 in a day," he observed.
Commenting on the strong Indian batting line-up, Gurusinha said, "It is a very strong and experienced batting line-up. It is not going to be easy for any side, not just Sri Lanka. One has to come with really good plans and then execute them in the middle, which is the most important thing. If you come up with plans but don't execute it, then it is not going to help. My team is ready now," added Gurusinha.
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