PALLEKELE
\nSri Lanka won their one-off Test match against Afghanistan by 10 wickets, but skipper and captain Kusal Mendis said on Thursday they face a tougher challenge on the eve of their three-match ODI series.
\nAfghanistan are making a name for themselves in white-ball cricket, and will take the field with several of their key stalwarts.
\n\u201cIn ODIs, we know Afghanistan will be tougher opponents,\u201d Mendis told reporters ahead of the first match at home in Pallekele on Friday.
\nAfghanistan came sixth in the last year\u2019s ICC Cricket World Cup.
\n\u201cThey have a lot of experience nowadays thanks to league cricket,\u201d Mendis added. \u201cThey compete against good players and play in all sorts of conditions.
\nThey have come a long way, and there\u2019s not much room for error with them.\u201d
\nBoth teams will play three ODIs in Kandy, with the next two matches on Feb 11 and 14, followed by three T20 matches in Dambulla.
\nAfghanistan\u2019s opening batsman Rahmanullah Gurbaz, all-rounder Mohammad Nabi, former captain Gulbadin Naib, left-arm quick Fazalhaq Farooqi and chinaman bowler Noor Ahmad are all back in the team for the ODI leg of the tour.
\n\u201cQuite a few of their experienced campaigners are returning to the side,\u201d Mendis said. \u201cThey have couple of batters who are in form too \u2014 but we are confident of doing well in our own backyard.\u201d
\nSri Lanka have dropped former captain Dasun Shanaka due to poor form, but have Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne and Dunith Wellalage as all-rounders.
\n\u201cThey are all capable players,\u201d Mendis said, adding that \u201chopefully one of them will do the job for us\u201d.
\nBut while they were determined to win, Mendis said, there is no immediate goal from the ODI series.
\nSri Lanka were knocked out of the 2025 Champions Trophy \u2014 scheduled to be hosted by Pakistan \u2014 by finishing ninth in the ODI World Cup.
\n\u201cWe have struggled in ODI cricket quite a bit in the last few years,\u201d said Mendis, adding that the island nation was \u201cso disappointed\u201d not to qualify for the Champions Trophy.
\n\u201cOur next aim is to build a team for the (ODI) World Cup, which is three years away,\u201d he said. \u201cWe know the World Cup is in South Africa so we need to build an attack based on fast bowlers.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PALLEKELE Sri Lanka won their one-off Test match against Afghanistan by 10 wickets, but skipper and captain Kusal Mendis said on Thursday they face a tougher challenge on the eve of their three-match ODI series. Afghanistan are making a name for themselves in white-ball cricket, and will take the field with several of their key […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":386225,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-386203","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n