NEWS
Follow UsKusal Mendis will lead Sri Lanka for the rest of the World Cup following Dasun Shanaka's injury that will keep him out for another three weeks. Sri Lanka have lost both their matches in the World Cup so far and will hope to return to winning way against Australia in Lucknow on Monday (October 16).
Mendis, who will lead Sri Lanka against Australia, says captaining a side is not something new for him.
"I'm very happy that I got the captaincy. I will continue to play the same way as I used to because captaincy is not something new for me. I have captained other teams before, even in the practice game in Guwahati, I led the team. There will be no change to my playing style," Mendis said ahead of the Australia tie.
Mendis scored a 76 against South Africa and followed that up with a magnificent 122 against Pakistan, but his side fell short on both occasions. "I have a lot of confidence in our batting, I think we can do everything. I think we have a better batting unit -- in form and bowling unit also," Mendis said.
Addressing how different the pitches are in India compared to the ones back home, Mendia believes that his bowlers need to adapt quickly to the conditions.
"We all know every bowling unit will struggle on Indian pitches due to the batting-friendly surfaces. We quickly need to adapt, and I strongly believe that the bowlers will do their part to their maximum ability," Mendis said
"Not only against us ,but even top-quality attacks have been taken apart and conceded 300 or 350 plus on these pitches. We cannot expect many changes instantly, but as the captain, my duty will be to understand what they do at training and try to get them to do their best."
Like Sri Lanka, Australia too are yet to register a win in the competition, and they will look to avoid losing three in a row, which would be difficult to recover from.
