Sri Lanka assistant coach Naveed Nawaz on Monday said that spinner Maheesh Theekshana will be available for the World Cup clash against Pakistan. Sri Lanka will look to bounce back after losing the opening game as they face Pakistan at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Tuesday.
The ace spinner didn’t feature in Sri Lanka’s opening match against South Africa as he was still recovering from a hamstring strain. “I think Theekshana should be available for this game. Obviously, we didn’t want to take a risk with him in the first game and didn’t want to go against the medical advice. I’m sure he’ll be available for this one,” Naveed Nawaz said during a pre-match press conference.
Sri Lanka lost by 102 runs to South Africa in the match that saw several records being tumbled. South Africa scored the highest total in the Cricket World Cup. Pakistan had a good start to their ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 campaign with a thumping 81-run win over the Netherlands. Nawaz said it is a long tournament and players are learning from each game.
“Well, it’s simple. They got to think about it – we expect to face similar pitches in India and it’s not going to change much. It’s going to be batting-friendly pitches mostly. So, we’ve got to look at the execution in the game against South Africa and how we could have pulled back probably another 50 – 60 runs and then see what we could have done better which we have already done and then keep the group positive is the most important because it’s a long tournament. You’re going to be playing, travelling, and doing so many other things for over a month. So, it’s very important to keep everyone positive and you’re learning each game and moving forward. That’s as simple as that, I guess,” Nawaz said.
Dasun Shanaka, who was not among the runs, also received words of encouragement from Nawaz. “Oh, yes, that has been a worry for all of us that Dasun was not among the runs and he’s had a couple of injury scares as well. As a group, we are very pleased that, that he’s scored runs and he’s getting better with his tennis elbow as well,” Nawaz said.
Sri Lanka Squad: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis(w), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka(c), Dunith Wellalage, Kasun Rajitha, Matheesha Pathirana, Dilshan Madushanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Lahiru Kumara, Dushan Hemantha and Maheesh Theekshana.
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