|| Desk Report ||

Even though India has postponed their tour planned to Sri Lanka this month because of the coronavirus, head coach Mickey Arthur on Friday has said that Sri Lanka are raring to play international cricket again after a few days of practice session.

Arthur made the statement after his team completed a first post lockdown training session in order to prepare them to make sure that they can adapt to competitive cricket when cricket returns.

“We have done a lot of conditioning and every day we have upped their bowling,” said Mickey Arthur, who took up the charge of the islanders after the conclusion of the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup in place of Chandika Hathurusingha.

“And so they are almost ready in the next month, they will be ready to play cricket,” Arthur said after completing the first-phase of the residential camp with 13 players while the next training session is due in about a week even though Sri Lanka still have no idea when they will play again.

Cricket on the island came to a halt on March 13 when England pulled out during a practice match ahead of a two-Test series while India have called off the tour because of the COVID-19 pandemic, who were due to visit Sri Lanka this month for three one-day internationals and three T20 matches.

Skipper Dimuth Karunaratne said getting back to training after idling during the 24-hour curfew in the capital was not easy for them.

“Even when we were training on the first day it was really hard, but now I am shaping and I am getting my fitness back,” Dimuth Karunaratne said.