Pothas: Sri Lanka must not be ‘infatuated’ with India

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Sri Lanka interim coach Nic Pothas insists his team must not be “infatuated” with hosts India when the three-match Test series gets underway next week.

The visitors have not won a Test in India since 1982 and to compound matters even further the home team will carry a mental edge having whitewashed their opponents in a Test series in Sri Lanka in August.

However, while admitting that India are a good side, Pothas said he and his team will concentrate and focus on their own performances.

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Pothas said on the team’s arrival in India: “The mistake you can make here is come and be infatuated with the Indian side and concentrate too much on them. We know they are a good side.

“We only played them a month ago. We have to concentrate on our strengths and jobs, and if we can execute them well it will be a challenging series.

“There are not too many people who have the joy of playing India back to back. It’s always a pleasure to come here and challenge ourselves against a very, very good team.

“I think where we have changed is the culture within group. When we took on India [in Sri Lanka], we were all pretty new from the support staff to the players involved.

“We are now a team that pride ourselves in our culture. We defend it and we focus on ourselves.”

The first Test gets underway at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on 16 November.

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