IND vs SL | Senior players will have to pull up their socks to flatten India at home, believes Kusal Perera

It has been a decade of struggle for Sri Lanka as they have been scrambling to find a way to fill the shoes of the retired legends like Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene. In this transition phase, the island nation has dropped to the second half of the rankings in every format and will look to start the decade by turning the tables on India.

As the first T20 of the three-match rubber was abandoned, keeper-batsman Kusal Perera recognised it as an opening for the visitors to pull off an upset on their hosts. But Perera admitted that to pull off such a feat the senior players in the camp need to step up and lead with example.

“I didn’t play consistent Test cricket but in white-ball cricket, I played the last series in Australia. There I played well but not up to the mark. So I will try to do my best in this series. We need to play together as a team. Obviously the senior players will have to pull up their socks. They will have to do much better but at the same time the good thing is we have some young bowlers and batsmen in the squad,” Perera told bcci.tv.

The 29-year-old left-handed batsman said being a senior player, he too will be under the lens in the short series and shared that he will try to give his best to regain his form with the T20 World Cup lingering in the sight.

“This series will be a good experience for me as I have to take responsibility. I will have to bat at number three position and I will try to do my best,” he said.