Sri Lanka wants extra on-field aggression to re-establish its Test prowess, new captain Dhananjaya de Silva stated Thursday forward of the one-off red-ball match in opposition to Afghanistan.
The island nation is useless final on the World Test Championship (WTC) rankings and its final match in October on the identical floor noticed a humiliating innings and 222-run loss to Pakistan in its worst ever residence defeat.
It slipped to eighth within the world Test rankings final week after Australia’s loss at residence to the West Indies, and de Silva stated his facet had did not make an influence with its cautious play.
“I have been telling the guys the last few days the need to play aggressive cricket,” he instructed reporters.
“Test matches are won by taking 20 wickets so you can’t be defensive in your mindset. You’ve got to set up attacking fields.”
Sri Lanka’s first Test for the yr begins on Friday in Colombo and isn’t a part of the World Test Championship however provides a helpful alternative to trial the group’s overhaul.
De Silva was certainly one of three captains appointed final month to guide Sri Lanka’s Test, ODI and T20 groups — the primary time the island has had separate skippers for all three codecs.
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The middle-order batter and helpful off-spinner takes cost forward of a full tour slate for the yr together with a three-Test collection in England.
Three uncapped gamers are amongst Sri Lanka’s 16-member squad as a part of the generational refresh.
“This year is going to be a very big one for us in Test match cricket,” de Silva stated.
“Start off with a win and then obviously the long-term goal is to improve on our rankings.”
‘An impact player’
Afghanistan is making a reputation for itself in white-ball cricket however has had fewer probabilities to impress in five-day matches since being granted Test standing in 2017.
Captain Hashmatullah Shaidi stated that extra probabilities to play five-day video games would make his facet a drive to be reckoned with.
“We have a good domestic structure in place,” he stated.
“The good thing is a lot of young players are coming through. We do not get many chances in Test match cricket,” he added.
“More Tests means we will know more about the game. That’s the only way we can improve… It’s a good opportunity for the players here and we are ready for the game.”
Afghanistan will likely be with out star leg-spinner Rashid Khan, who’s recovering after again surgical procedure.
“As captain, I will miss Rashid a lot,” Hashamtullah stated.
“He is such an impact player. He will be difficult to replace.”
This week’s Test is Afghanistan’s first in opposition to Sri Lanka and its eighth general.
The match will likely be adopted by three ODIs in Kandy and three T20 matches in Dambulla.
Source web site: sportstar.thehindu.com
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