Perera wants to play fearless cricket against Bangladesh
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Sri Lanka's new ODI captain Kusal Perera shared his thoughts on the team after taking charge as he wants to play fearless and aggressive cricket. He spread this message among his teammates before the upcoming ODI series against Bangladesh.
Sri Lanka on Wednesday announced 18-man squad for the three-match series against Bangladesh. Former captain Dimuth Karunaratne, veteran Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal are not in the squad. Pereira was not in the team for a while, he returned to the team after more than a year as the captain.
"We have to play fearless cricket to win the match. Don't be afraid of losing. If someone is worried about their place in the team, they will not be able to give 100%. All I want to say to the players is give your all” Perera said.
"If we play fearlessly, even in practice, it will be possible to play the same in the main match. And that's what I told everyone on the team. If we are afraid, we will fall further behind. I am trying to build a culture in the team where the players have a lot of confidence,” he added.
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Perera himself is an aggressive batsman. His unbeaten 153 off 200 balls in the Test against South Africa in Durban in 2019 has made history. He made fifty off 17 balls in the ODI against Pakistan in 2015, which is the joint second fastest in this edition.
“Personally I really want to play fearless cricket. My success is also here. Whenever I played with fear, I couldn’t do better. I want others to play like that” he further added.
The three matches will be played on May 23, 25 and 28 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur. With this series, Perera will start his journey as the ninth Sri Lankan captain in the last five years in ODIs.
