Expect a hard time in India

Sri Lanka cricket team is due to tour India later this month for a series of Tests, One day Internationals and two Twenty20 game. It will be a crucial tour for Sri Lanka as the Indians will make use of home conditions to demolish Sri Lanka.

On the other hand, the Indian team is shaping up well, thrashing World Champions Australia in the second game match of their seven-match One Day International series which is now levelled at one-all.

Helped by an explosive 124 off 107 balls by M.S. Dhoni and a fluent 76 off 80 balls by Gauthan Gambhir, India brought the world champions down to earth with a smashing 99-win in the second ODI in Kanpur on Wednesday. It was a creditable performance by India after Australia won the first ODI at Vedodara by four runs in a game which had a nail-biting finish.

By the time Sri Lanka open their forthcoming tour, the Indians will be in perfect shape after confronting a well-knit team such as Australia. The morale of the Indian team too would be high and in addition, they will have the home advantage. Hence, Sri Lanka team will always find it hard when they play in India.

Sri Lanka is due to make a six-week tour of India starting from November 11, After a three-day warm up game against Indian Board X1 in Mumbai from November 11, the Lankans will be meeting India in a three-Test series from November 16. The Test series between the two countries will be followed by a couple of Twenty20 Internationals. The last leg of the tour will be a five-match ODI series from December 15 to 27.

Hence, it will be a gigantic task for Kumar Sangakkara and his men to face the challenge thrown by India. Nevertheless, the Lankan team is rich in talent and experience. If they make least number of mistakes and concentrate fully, the Lankans could make their presence felt.

The national selection committee, headed by Ashantha de Mel, has named a well balanced side, blending experience with youth. It is nice to see two freshers in the tour squad - left-handed middle-order batsman Thilina Kandamby and wicketkeeper-batsman Kaushal Silva.

The selectors have also made a wise move by recalling left-arm paceman Chanaka Welegedera.

The selection committee's decision to omit Chamara Kapugedara from the 16-member tour squad is also a reasonable move. Kapugedara has been given enough and more chances to cement his place in the national team. However, he has failed to improve his 20s and 30s in to match winning innings and has failed to justify his place in the squad. Nevertheless, Kapugedara has an opportunity still as he is included in the ODI squad. A couple of big innings will help him to regain confidence and impress the selectors to regain his place in the Test squad.

However, Kapugedara, along with Malinda Warnapura, who are notable absentees from the tour party, could always make a come back. They are talented players but have been unfortunate not to make use of the chances that came their way. If they could rectify their mistakes, they could always make a come back to be an asset to the team.

The presence of Thilina Kandamby is a vital factor to strengthen middle order batting. He has made it to the Test squad on the outstanding contributions in the ODIs. The ex-Anandian made the best use of the break he got in the big league to aggregate 618 runs from 17 ODIs at an impressive average of 44.14. We hope he could continue this form in the established game as well.

Sri Lanka could look for another reserve wicketkeeper in Kaushal Silva.

Arrival of Welagedara will fill the void of a left-arm quick bowler after the retirement of Chaminda Vaas. This is a good opportunity for the 28-year-old Welegedera whose only Test appearance was back in 2007 against England at Galle.

Sri Lanka Test squad for India, led by Sangakkara, include Muttiah Muralitharan, Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Tharanga Paranavitana, Thilan Samaraweera, Angelo Mathews, Thilina Kandamby, Prasanna Jayawardene, Kaushal Silva, Chanaka Welegedara, Thilan Thushara, Nuwan Kulasekera, Dammika Prasad, Rangana Herath and Ajantha Mendis.

The Lankan squad for the two-match Twenty20 internationals is: Kumar Sangakkara, Muttiah Muralitharan, Mahela Jayawardene, Sanath Jayasuriya, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Chamara Kapugedara, Angelo Mathews, Chinthaka Jayasinghe, Kaushal Weeraratne, Ajantha Mendis, Muthumudalige Pushpakumara, Chanaka Welegedara, Thilan Thushara, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Kulasekera.

Evergreen Sanath Jayasuriya has been given yet another opportunity to take his explosive and entertaining cricket to India, where he is extremely popular since emerging as the most Valuable Player in Sri Lanka's 1996 World Cup triumph in the subcontinent. Despite his critics making desperate attempts to dump him, Jayasuriya has been going great guns and his willow should speak loudly once more in India.

If Jayasuriya and Tillakaratne Dilshan could continue their pinch-hitting, it will be a distinct advantage for the visitors. Young Angelo Mathews has shown early promise at the opportunities he has got so far and it will be interesting to see how he copes with the Indian challenge.

Besides skipper Sangakkara, Jayasuriya and Mathews, others in the Sri Lanka ODI squad are Muttiah Muralitharan, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Chamara Kapugedara, Tilina Kandamby, Upul Tharanga, Thilan Samaraweera, Sanath Jayasuriya, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Thilan Thushara, Nuwan Kulasekera and Ajantha Mendis.

Slow bowler Ajantha Mendis who made it to international cricket with a bang, has been off colour during the recent series and he will have to produce something exceptional, if he is to remain in the team in future series. It seems that the opposition batsmen have made a careful study of his bowling.

Unless he keeps inventing new deliveries like Muralitharan, it would be hard for Mendis to remain in the big league.