'It's tough to drop a legend'

Sangakkara explains rationale behind Jayasuriyas omission

“It’s always tough to drop a player like Sanath Jayasuriya the legend,” said the Lankan skipper. “But at the end of the day, you want to have the best side and that’s the way to go forward.

“You look at the conditions and the combination, and it was tough to fit him in the last match. Every player knows it’s the same, whether it’s Murali, Sanath or anyone else,” he reasoned on the eve of Monday’s third game here.

Admitting that it was difficult to convey the message to anyone who was going to be dropped, the left-hander pointed out that the key to dealing with such issues was direct communication with the players concerned.

“It doesn’t matter whether he is a senior or a junior, you obviously have to tell him. But it has to be direct, and in a subtle way sometimes, depending upon how at ease that person is with himself. Whether you take it well or take it badly does go on to show what your real character is.

“All our guys accept the fact that you’ve got to perform to stay and sometimes the combinations don’t allow certain players to play,” he explained.

Angelo Mathews became the latest player after Muttiah Muralitharan and Dilhara Fernando to return home with injury, further reducing their bowling fire-power, but Sangakkara said he would look at it as a chance for other guys to step up to the plate.

“I look at it as the opportunity for the new guys to come here and show what they can do. I know you can say it’s a depleted attack, but I look at it in a different way.

“It’s great for these guys to get an opportunity against a tough opposition in tough conditions. You can then see what their character is and how they are going to shape up in future. These guys are fresh and hungry to perform, hopefully they will perform well,” he noted.