Board President XI’s skipper Sanju Samson is taking the two-day warm-up game against Sri Lanka as the opportunity to gain experience of facing a bowler like Rangana Herath.

Talking to the reporter ahead of the match, Samson said, “Herath is a very experienced cricketer. It is a practice match for him but for us it’s a great opportunity to face him. He is one of the greatest spinners Sri Lanka have ever seen. He is one of the legends and to go there and play against him will be a great experience.”

The BCCI has opted to give chance to the players, who are not playing in the ongoing fifth round Ranji Trophy for the tour-match at Jadavpur University’s second campus ground in Salt Lake.

Talking about his team, Samson said: “It is a practice match for them but it’s not a practice match for us. We will be looking forward to beating them in the match. We are lucky to get a good opportunity in this gap.”

This will also be an opportunity for Samson to prove his worth to the selectors with a solid performance. He said, “Each and every individual in the team has put his heart together for past many years to perform at this level. It’s just a one match but it’s a great opportunity for each and everyone of us. We should look this as a great platform to perform and give everyone a chance and succeed.”

The first day of the practice match on Saturday will also be the 23rd birthday for the young lad. He said, “I have led Kerala for a season and I am up for the challenge. We will have a team strategy. All of us know each other well as we have been playing domestic matches for many seasons. We have played against and together.”

The Board President XI captain concluded by talking about their preparations against the touring side who have a lot of youngsters in their squad. He said, “They are a quality Test side with a lot of talented and experienced players. They have a lot of new guys in their team. We will take some time and see, we did not have enough time to plan.”