COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, CMC – Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara believes his side has enough to firepower to undermine West Indies, though the hosts will be without spin legend Muttiah Muralitharan who recently retired from Test cricket.
The 38-year-old off-spinner served as the backbone of the Sri Lanka attack for the last 15 years before playing his final Test against India in July, finishing with a record 800 wickets from 133 matches.
Speaking ahead of the first Test of the three-match series starting in Galle next week, Sangakkara said he expected Sri Lanka’s bowling attack to excel even without Murali.
“We need to re-focus because this tour is an important stepping stone. We want to win the Test series and we want to improve our value as a Test side,” said the accomplished wicketkeeper/batsman.
“We don’t have Murali for the first time in a full series since his retirement, but we have a varied bowling attack and each bowler needs to shoulder some of the responsibility for replacing the great man (Murali).”
The right-armer proved a thorn in the Windies side in the past, grabbing 82 wickets in 12 Tests against them at an average of 19.6.
Despite his absence, West Indies face a tough series against the Sri Lankans, who they have not beaten in over a decade.
Their preparation for the series was further hampered when the last two days of their three-match against Sri Lanka Cricket President’s XI were washed out, leaving them without valuable match practice.
Sangakkara said, however, he did not expect the weather to be a major factor in Galle.
“Fortunately, though, I think the rainfall in Galle has been less. We can also count on the ruthless efficiency of curator Jayanda Warnaweera to get the venue ready,” he said.
“Even so, there might be some lingering moisture so there could be some help for the quick bowlers.”
