They may not have ideal preparation for the five match ODI series against India, but Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews believes, the tournament would give the team an opportunity to assess bench strength, ahead of the 2015 World Cup.
"There can be both positives and negatives. To look at the positives, this a chance to get our combination right and look at some of the guys who we think can be part of the World Cup," Mathews said on the eve of the opening ODI.
"The confidence level is going to be the main factor. We have played pretty good cricket in the past six months and the confidence level is very high. We are giving opportunities to our bench strength and also see that we keep the winning momentum going. It's about balancing both the things," he added.
On the absence of some key players like Lasith Malinga and Rangana Herath, Mathews said, "Malinga is injured but Rangana is not injured. We left him out because we wanted to have a look at Suraj Randiv, Chaturanga de Silva and also Seekunge Prasanna. We need to look at these three whom we think have a lot of chances going into the World Cup."
When asked if he was worried about an under par performance with an inexperienced side, Mathews said, "We are looking to give some of our guys a go. We know some of our guys are injured and Sachitra is doing remedial work. Few of the best players are not here. But if something happens in coming months like somebody is injured we want to make sure that we've got a back-up ready.
"We need to look at a positive way regardless of winning or losing," Mathews concluded.
