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Pakistan T-20s a good preparation for World T-20 Mahela
Friday, 1 June 2012 - 10:58 AM SL Time
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Sri Lankan cricket captain Mahela Jayawardene adjusts his headband during a practice session ahead of their Twenty20 cricket match against Pakistan in Hambantota, Sri Lanka, Thursday, May 31, 2012. (AP)
by Rex Clementine
The upcoming World T-20 here at home will be high on the agenda of Sri Lanka cricket captain Mahela Jayawardene, who spoke of the need to use the three games ahead of the showpiece event in September/October to finalize Sri Lanka s team and strategies for the event. Sri Lanka has never won the World T-20.
Jayawardene s side has three T-20 Internationals prior to the World T-20 with the first of those games starting today at Mahinda Rajapakse International Stadium in Hambantota. The second game will take place on Sunday at the same venue while another game has been scheduled a couple of months later against India.
`In the three remaining T-20s ahead of the World T-20 we just need to make sure that we get the combinations and the personnel right. That s why we ve got a few new faces to see what works because we ve got a few guys who are still injured. We have been also thinking of different combinations to suit us when playing at home,` Jayawardene told journalists yesterday prior to the team s training session.
While all-rounder Thisara Perera returns to the squad after injury, leg-spinner Kaushal Lokuarachchi has been included having played his last game for Sri Lanka five years ago. Both players are expected to make the final eleven today. `We have got quite a few all-rounders in our side. It s an advantage we can fiddle around a bit with our batting and bowling because we ve got Angelo, Thisara and Lokuarachchi. Hopefully we ll come up with a decent combination and we want to give some opportunities to some of the players as well to see how they fair,` Jayawardene added.
Although Hambantota has hosted four ODIs, this will be the first T-20 played at the venue and a packed house is expected today.
The windy conditions prevalent here are difficult to adjust to and with prior experience at the venue the Sri Lankans are better suited to counter the conditions here. `There are quite a few factors and the wind is probably one of those factors. We had a good session last night till pretty late just to gauge how that is going to affect. Very excited to play a T20 game here and it s a nice venue and a big ground and all those factors come into play,` Jayawardene further said
Meanwhile, Pakistan, won the World T-20 title in 2009 beating Sri Lanka in the finals at Lord s, have a new captain in Mohammad Hafeez for the shortest form of the game. `We all know that Sri Lanka is always good on their own soil and we are looking forward to a very tough series,` Hafeez told journalists.
Sri Lanka (From): Mahela Jayawardene (Captain), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Lahiru Thirimanne, Kaushalya Lokuarachchi, Thisara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekera, Sachithra Senanayake, Lasith Malinga, Chamara Kapugedera, Upul Tharanga and Isuru Udana.
Pakistan (From): Khalid Latif, Ahmed Shahzad, Mohammad Hafeez (Captain), Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Shakeel Ansar, Shahid Afridi, Yasir Arafat, Umar Gul, Sohail Tanvir, Saeed Ajmal, Raza Hasan, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Sami and Hammad Azam.
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