We are here to do a job: Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews

October 29, 2014 05:17 pm | Updated May 23, 2016 03:52 pm IST - Mumbai

Angelo Mathews fits into the category of an ideal allrounder. The 27-year-old has accomplished a great deal, especially when donning the Sri Lankan captain’s cap.

He’s commanded respect — from his teammates and rivals — playing 44 Tests and 133 ODIs and Sri Lanka has pinned hopes on him to provide the spark during the ICC World Cup next year.

After a home series against Pakistan in August, the Sri Lankans were looking forward to a seven-match home ODI series against England in November-December and engaged in a high performance physical training stint to sustain them right through the next five months.

Then the India call came and a handful of senior players let known their displeasure; Sri Lanka Cricket had agreed to play five ODIs at short notice.

Mathews just reiterated a strong view held by his teammates at his first press conference at the C.K. Nayudu Hall, Cricket Club of India on Wednesday.

When asked if his team was a reluctant starter, Mathews said: “It’s not that we are reluctant to play a series. But it’s not an ideal preparation for a tour of India, which is a tough place to play cricket. We were focusing on our fitness for the last one-and-a-half months. Suddenly this tour came up and we had to take it. We are here to do a job and we will play to the best of our ability and win against India.”

Sri Lanka’s overall record against India is not appalling (54 wins and 78 defeats), but it’s yet to defeat India in a series in India; the figures are 11 wins against 29 defeats.

“This tour will give us a chance to get our combination right for the World Cup. Our past experiences have not been so good here. So we will try and get that right this time.”

“But to give opportunities to some of the players we need to look at is also important. This is an important series, we always play to win.”

The Island team is set to play 19 ODIs before the World Cup. “We started the preparations (for the World Cup) from the Pakistan tour. We had two months off after the series against Pakistan. We took 10 days complete rest and then started the physical fitness camp. We were planning to hit the peak against England. But then the shift came; as players we need to take all in a positive way and adapt to the situations,” said Mathews.

Workload

Touching upon each player’s workload he said: “We have to be cautious and manage our workload. We don’t want injuries before or during the World Cup. We have to rest some players as well, but at the same time try and get the combinations right. This tour will be a learning curve for some players. Herath has been rested and Malinga is injured. They are our experienced bowlers.”

Whatever may be the outcome of the five-match series, the BCCI may make around Rs. 200 crore from its broadcasting rights with STAR India.

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