Former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly believes the experience of the Australia tour last winter will have matured and helped the likes of Virat Kohli, Murali Vijay and others
Sourav Ganguly at the Melbourne Cricket Ground during India's tour to Australia earlier this year
New Delhi: Former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly believes the experience of the Australia tour last winter will have matured and helped the likes of Virat Kohli, Murali Vijay and others for the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka.
Sourav Ganguly at the Melbourne Cricket Ground during India's tour to Australia earlier this year
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Sri Lanka will host India to play three Tests from August 12 to September 1. "India will do well in the series against Sri Lanka. The away series in Australia last winter should have helped the players.
The Murali Vijays, Virat Kohlis, Ajinkya Rahanes, Lokesh Rahuls should have matured from that tour and it will definitely help them against Sri Lanka, who are a tough team... but I expect India to do well," Ganguly told IANS in an interview yesterday.
The tour immediately follows the short limited-overs trip to Zimbabwe which saw Rahane debut as captain. Though India won the ODI series 3-0, Zimbabwe pulled one back to level the Twenty20 International series 1-1.
"I don't think we should even evaluate the team's performance in Zimbabwe. It was a team where the seniors and other regulars were not playing. Rahane and the others should leave it behind, not be bothered and focus on the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka which will be very important," he said.
Ganguly added that India Team Director Ravi Shastri, who did not travel to Zimbabwe, will be with the side in Sri Lanka. "Ravi Shastri is going to Sri Lanka along with three other assistant coaches. Ravi is doing a great job and is going to be with the team for the time being," said Ganguly.