'No excuses for our poor outings'

Sri Lanka fielded their spin bowling coach Roger Wijesuriya to face the media and the former left-arm spinner said there was no excuse for the manner of defeats they have suffered in the first two matches.

    
“Before this tour we had a bit of time for the English tour and the boys got on more with the physical aspect of their game,” he began here on Saturday. “At the same time the West Indies ‘A’ side was coming and we wanted to give the chance to others and that’s when we got an invitation to play this series. But that can’t be an excuse because at this level you have to be ready for anything.”

Wijesuriya said it’s been a tough series for the Lanka for so far.  “It’s 2-0 at the moment (in India’s favour) and this has been a tough tour for us. But every time we come into a new game there are lessons that we have learnt from the previous games. The boys are ready to step up further. This is challenging but there are good opportunities for youngsters to show what they can do,” he remarked.

The 54-year-old stressed there was no pressure on the senior players to score runs. “For each one, each game is a new game. We are not putting pressure on one player and saying you are the one who has to do it for us. But the day he gets a start he has to make it big. Maybe it applies to bowlers as well,” he offered.