The captain of Sri Lanka, Charith Asalanka, wants his squad to play white-ball cricket more consistently. Starting on November 9, the Lankan Lions will host New Zealand for a two-match Twenty20 International series after winning three consecutive limited-over series at home. The skipper discussed his desire to improve his consistency and move up the ranks before that. Interestingly, Sri Lanka is ranked eighth right now, and he intends to move the team up to third.
The 27-year-old emphasised the achievements Sri Lanka had before to 2014 and expressed his desire for his side to revive those heydays. Speaking on the value of consistency, he pointed out that if they can stay competitive, they won’t be exposed in future ICC tournaments.
“We must improve our ranks since they demonstrate our continuous success. Getting into the top three of the rankings is our aim. According to Asalanka, “if we have been winning consistently, we won’t be exposed when we go to the ICC tournaments.”
We’d have defeated strong teams and advanced to the semi-finals, just like we did in 2014 and earlier. It is our goal to return to that level. It’s critical to do exceptionally well on each tour,” he continued.
I hope we can produce 15/16 players who are extremely talented: Charith Asalanka
Due to injuries and some players’ unavailability, Sri Lanka has had the opportunity to try a number of fresh players in recent months. Although Janith Liyanage and Nishan Madushka were particularly noteworthy, they were left off of the roster for the Twenty20 International series against New Zealand. Asalanka said in a statement that the goal is to play the best XI, but he is pleased that other players have occasionally contributed.
“Our goal is to always play our best lineup. Because they are aware of the level of performance required to earn a berth in that XI, this also increases our bench strength. Additionally, each member of the starting lineup battles for a spot.
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I believe we’ve made progress in that regard lately. With any luck, we can produce 15–16 really talented players in a year, Asalanka stated.