Sri Lanka have lost all the three matches of the series so far against India and are also missing some of their key players.
Sri Lanka stand-in skipper Lasith Malinga on Wednesday sought to play down the turmoil in the team, saying there's no pressure on the hosts ahead of the fourth ODI on Thursday. Sri Lanka have lost all the three matches of the series against India and are also missing some of their key players before the game.
In the absence of both suspended Upul Tharanga and injured Chamara Kapugedara, Malinga will lead the hosts, who are trailing 0-3 in the five-match series.
"At the moment, we have lost a few matches. But I still feel we have good young players and a few experienced players. This is time we have to stand up and give confidence to young players, that we're still good enough to play international cricket. People think we are not top of the table, but I feel we can change that," said Malinga at the match-eve press conference.
"I don't recognise pressure. If there is pressure that means you don't know what to do in a particular instance and you don't have the ability to do what's required. The team and I have to build a mentality whereby we don't feel pressure," he added.
Sri Lanka's selection committee has already resigned, with chairman Sanath Jayasuriya citing crowd trouble that had erupted towards the end of the third ODI in Pallekele as the last straw.
The outgoing committee named Malinga captain for this solitary match before Tharanga returns.
"I want to do my best for my team and for the youngsters. Now the nation is looking forward to the next match. We want to win these two matches. That's why I want to use my experience and give all the confidence to the young players," said Malinga of this turbulent situation.
"There's no shortage of talent and skill in our team, but there is a shortcoming in how we execute that. We need to fix our mentality. My main goal is to try and instill a mentality whereby players are able to deal with tough situations and persevere. If that is successful, we will be able to get a good result tomorrow," he added.
Malinga is the fifth different captain named by Sri Lanka during this Indian tour. Rangana Herath, Dinesh Chandimal, Tharanga and Kapugedara have done the honours previously in the Tests and ODIs.
Malinga has 299 wickets in 202 ODIs thus far. He will be gunning for his landmark wicket tomorrow, whilst M S Dhoni will be playing his 300th ODI for India.
(With PTI Inputs)
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 "Lasith Malinga")
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