The wisdom of playing a two-day tie to ready for a Test match may be questionable but that is all Sri Lanka have by way of preparing for next week’s contest at Eden Gardens.
Making this not much of a dress rehearsal to face Virat Kohli’s team is also the fact that the match against a Board President’s XI will be played at the Jadavpur University’s Salt Lake campus at the weekend.
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So, while Sri Lanka will get a chance to see how well Angelo Mathews’ calf has healed, for players of the home team this will be an opportunity to test themselves against the left-arm wiles of Rangana Herath and more.
“It is a practice match for him but a great opportunity for us to face him. He (Herath) is one of the greatest spinners of Sri Lanka,” said Sanju Samson, who will lead Board President’s XI here on Friday.
“Each and every individual in the team has worked hard for past many years to perform at this level. It’s just one match but a great opportunity for each of us. We should look this as a great platform to perform and give everyone a chance and succeed.”
{{/usCountry}}“Each and every individual in the team has worked hard for past many years to perform at this level. It’s just one match but a great opportunity for each of us. We should look this as a great platform to perform and give everyone a chance and succeed.”
{{/usCountry}}With the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) deciding that the Ranji Trophy is more important than this match, only players from states not playing in the round that began on Thursday were made available for Board President’s XI.
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They will be led by Samson who will need all his experience gained from being Kerala skipper for a season. “I am ready for the challenge and lucky to get a good opportunity in the gap (between Ranji games),” said Samson, who turns 23 on Saturday.
Samson, who replaced the injured Naman Ojha as captain, said they may not have had much time to plan but would be looking forward to beating the Sri Lankans.
For that to happen, Punjab’s young batsman Anmolpreet Singh will need to reproduce the kind of form that helped him score 267 in the Ranji Trophy against Chattisgarh. Ditto Amanpreet’s teammate Jiwanjot Singh and Abhishek Gupta.
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Coached by Narendra Hirwani, the home team also has Jalaj Saxena, who has put in all-round performances against Rajasthan and Jharkhand in the Ranji Trophy this term.
Sri Lanka’s bid to notch their first Test win in India starts on Saturday but perhaps just as important, this is also a chance for some Indians to get noticed.