Veteran Sri Lanka batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan on Monday said that the forthcoming Twenty20 Internationals and three-match one-day international series against hosts Bangladesh will serve as good preparation ahead of two major limited-overs competitions.
The visitors will embark on the limited-overs leg of the tour after securing the just-concluded two-match Test series 1-0 and Dilshan emphasised the importance of the upcoming matches, starting with the two-match T20 series on Wednesday at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong.
The second and final T20 International will also be held in the port-city on Friday before the one-dayers get underway in Dhaka from February 17.
‘This series will be good for everyone before the Asia Cup and World T20. I think this is good preparation for the upcoming series. Everyone must grab this opportunity and get ready ahead of the two tournaments,’ Dilshan told reporters in Chittagong.
Bangladesh will host both the Asia Cup and ICC World T20 scheduled to begin from February 25 and March 16 respectively.
‘Every single game [we are] playing now is important for us before the [WT20]. We have to get prepared with the conditions and weather,’ said the 37-year old hard-hitting opener.
‘We have to play good cricket on the particular day, especially in T20. We can’t make any mistakes. It is important to stay on for all 40 overs. With one month left for the World Cup, this is good for both teams.
We are playing good in all three formats.’
Bangladesh, usually considered a much better outfit in limited-overs cricket instead of the longer version, are once again expected to put up a stern challenge and it was not lost on Dilshan.
‘[Bangladesh] are playing very good cricket, especially in ODI and T20. We have to play our best cricket to beat Bangladesh in their soil. We can’t take them easily. We will see how it goes in [the] next couple of days,’ said Dilshan, a seasoned campaigner having featured in 87 Tests, 275 ODIs and 53 T20 Internationals.
The right-handed batsman played the last of his 87 Test matches against Bangladesh at home in 2013 before announcing his retirement from Test cricket.
When asked if he still followed his side’s Test fortunes, Dilshan gave a candid reply saying that he was enjoying his break from five-day cricket.
‘[Sri Lanka] are playing well, but I don’t have much time to watch after retiring from Test cricket. I am really enjoying how they are doing,’ he said.
-With New Age input
