Sri Lanka captain Lasith Malinga has blamed himself for their performance in the T20 Internationals against India but also said that leading an inexperienced side is affecting his performance as well. Sri Lanka lost both the games after the first T20 game was washed out.
“We lost 2-0. I have to perform well, because I have experience playing T20 cricket, but I didn’t get a single wicket in this tournament, that is why we are in this situation, 65-70 per cent (of the times),” said Lasith Malinga.
“I am the most experienced player in the team in T20s. Yes, I have the pressure to get wickets because I am a wicket-taking bowler, but I feel if we want to win the match we have to get one-two wickets early in first six overs, we didn’t get that in this tournament,” he said.
Lasith Malinga, who played 82 T20s, shared that partnerships are an important aspect in the shortest format.
“The top order is important and Indian top order got good partnerships. Partnership is important in T20 game. Because people (players) are thinking it is 20 overs, like we have to hit every single ball. They can bat and they can hit shots. But they’ve to learn to build an innings. That we are lacking. Last one and half/two years, we didn’t have that luxury,” he told.
“Previously, we had Sanga (Kumara Sangakkara), Mahela (Jayawardane) and Dilshan they knew how to build an innings. The young players are talented, they want to play their shots, but sometimes they have to be calm and handle the situation. That part is lacking,” added the Sri Lankan captain.
Malinga, who himself had a bad phase with the ball, said that it was one of the reasons for their series loss.
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“Going forward, I am looking forward to get my job done. I can’t give excuse to others (on non performance) as I have wicket taking variations, skills. I have experience of playing franchise cricket but, at the end of the day, in this tournament, I did not do anything for the team,” he expressed.
“Captaincy means, when we have experienced players who can handle situations, it is very easy to do the job. But now I don’t have that luxury. When I was captain in 2014, I had Mahela, Sanga, Angelo (Mathews), Dilshan, we had lots of experienced players who were match-winners, they knew what they needed to do. Now, players are not experienced and I have to guide them and I have to wait and see,” he said.
Malinga also added that India have good T20 players and playing in the IPL helped them a lot.
“Their players are doing well and have experience of playing the IPL also. They have good T20 players and have played in these conditions so many times in their career. Our players did not get that much of an opportunity, but we have to give maximum opportunity for them,” he said.
