NEW DELHI: Senior Sri Lankan batsman Dinesh Chandimal today admitted that his side cannot always use ‘transition phase’ as an excuse for the team not doing well in recent times.
Ahead of their World T20 cricket match against England tomorrow, Chandimal blamed on “inexperience of middle-order” for their inconsistent performances of late but he added that players need to “put their hands up and perform”.
“You cannot always say transition. We need to put our hands up. We will give our best shot in the next game,” Chandimal said when asked whether a team comprising of Tillakaratne Dilshan, him, Chamara Kapugedara, Angelo Mathews and Thisara Perera can be termed as inexperienced.
“We are struggling with middle order. In big games, we don’t have experience. The guys are working hard in practice. We are looking to do well in our next game,” Chandimal said.
He said tomorrow’s game against England and the next against South Africa will give his side an opportunity to do better.
“We are concerned with our middle order but we will have a good chance anyway. England’s pacers can be surprise package,” the talented right-hander said.
Chandimal is confident that the slowish Feroze Shah Kotla track will prove to be an advantage for the Sri Lankans considering that scoring will be difficult as compared to the batting-friendly conditions at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
“It’s all about the conditions. Wankhede was a good pitch while this (Kotla) wicket is slow. So we will have a good chance,” he added.
Sri Lanka are playing their third game after a six-day break and Chandimal said it has helped the team to rejuvenate.
“It was a really good break. We discussed what went wrong in the two games. We need to execute our plans and guys are looking forward to the match,” he said. (AGENCIES)
Follow our WhatsApp channel
