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Don't want my team to think we are going to win World Cup, says Angelo Mathews

Sri Lanka captain Mathews says he accepted captaincy after Malinga injury as he did not want to let his country down

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Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews during a press conference in Mumbai on Wednesday
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In times of crisis like the one Sri Lankan cricket is facing right now, when they look to defend their ICC World T20 title, it could not have fallen back upon a man with a cooler head than Angelo Mathews.

A day after the injured Lasith Malinga resigned as captain, Mathews was asked on Tuesday to take over by the newly-revamped selection panel led by Aravinda de Silva and that includes Kumar Sangakkara.

The 28-year-Mathews old is one of the few experienced Sri Lankan players, having taken over the captaincy from Mahela Jayawardene in Tests and ODIs. Coming out of the blue in the backdrop of Malinga's injuries and Sri Lanka's poor form in T20Is this year – they have lost seven and won only two out of nine games this year – Mathews said he was not prepared for this stop-gap arrangement.

"I was not," Mathews said when asked if he was prepared for captaincy. "But I have the experience of captaining for quite a few years now, so it is a challenge. Every tournament is a challenge. Every game is a challenge.

Whether you are the captain or not, you have a certain role to play in the team.

"The selectors and Lasith have been planning for this tournament for a quite a long time. They've worked together. And now, it is a whole different situation. So I have to do the best and get the best out of the team that I have."

The Lankan all-rounder added: "I was told to lead the team in the World T20 and how can I say no? I can't let the team and the country down. I will take this as a positive because I know they trusted me. I will try my best to do whatever possible to get to the top with the team that I have. It is a matter of going out there and expressing ourselves."

Mathews hoped that Malinga would be fit to play Lanka's first game, which is against qualifier from Group B in Kolkata on March 17. "It is unfortunate that Malinga is not fit as yet. But he is a very important person in our team, so we kept him in the squad hoping that he will be able to play the first game. We want him to rest and recover properly under expert supervision.

"As of now he, won't be playing the practice games. We want him to rest and recover because we know that the quality he has in him – he can train a couple of days and walk straight into a match. He is a guy like that. So we are hoping that he'll get a couple of net sessions before the first game. That is only a hope. We don't really know what the doctors and physios (have on) the current situation."

Malinga limped out after bowling Lanka to their only victory – against UAE – in the recent Asia Cup in Bangladesh with figures of 4/26.

The 1-2 series loss in India and the Asia Cup debacle has not spoilt the atmosphere in the Lankan camp, Mathews said. In fact, the defending champions not going in as favourites "did his team a huge favour", he said.

"We have admitted that we haven't played good cricket in Asia Cup. But the morale in the team is quite good. We can't say that we are all depressed and we are mourning about the Asia Cup. It is done and dusted. We've left it behind. World T20 is a new series. It is a fresh start for us. We are hoping that we'll click hopefully we can go right till the end," Mathews, with 62 T20I appearances, said.

Not being tournament favourites allows Sri Lanka to express freely. "If you look from the outside, no one will give us a chance. That's a good thing because we can go out there and express ourselves and play with a lot of freedom. That is what I expect from the team. I don't want them to think that we can win the World Cup. We want to take one game at a time, play with a lot of freedom because if we do play with a lot of freedom, I am sure we are going to beat most of the teams. That is all I want from the team. They very well know what I expect. We will play with a lot of freedom and positively."

The Lankan skipper hoped that experienced spinner Rangana Herath will exploit the Indian conditions and come good. Herath, 37, was recalled into the T20 side for Asia Cup after a gap of nearly two years.

"Herath didn't play a lot of short format cricket as he's struggling with his knees. So, we wanted him to concentrate on Test cricket. But in an important tournament like this and the Asia Cup, we wanted his presence because he is hugely experienced. In the last World T20, he played a major role. So, we have got a couple of experienced spinners in Sachithra Senanayake and Rangana Herath, and both of them will contribute a lot in the bowling department."

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