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Disruptions to their practice schedule on Saturday won't be as big a dampner as Yuvraj Singh's unavailability when India play Sri Lanka in the third one-day international of the tri-series in Dambulla on Monday. Yuvraj has been diagnosed with a mild strain of dengue and will miss the game against Sri Lanka. The left-hander, who has been advised five-day rest, has had a torrid time on the tour with injuries and lack of form. He also missed the second Test at the Sinhalese Sports Club because of a flu.
Fourteen of the 16 members of the squad practiced on the eve of the game after unseasonal rains disrupted the morning training sessions of both the teams. There were no complaints about the practice wickets from the Indians as the team enjoyed a full training session at the Rangiri International stadium.
Ashish Nehra is suffering from a strained glute and is a doubtful starter but a final call on his fitness will be taken on Monday. If Nehra doesn't clear the fitness test, then Munaf Patel, flown in as an additional member of the squad, is likely to get a game.
Dinesh Karthik, the wicket-keeper batsman, who opened against New Zealand on Tuesday, did not feature in the evening practice session. Karthik was hit on his right thumb during training on Saturday, but is said to be fit for Monday's game.
Sangakkara wary
India have their backs against the wall after a humiliating 200-run loss in their opening game; things gt worse on Saturday after their practice session was reduced to a mere fielding drill as the visiting team preferred not to have any batting practice due to poor pitches. Despite the situation, Sri Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakkara believes that India is not underprepared for Monday's encounter against the hosts.
"I don't think India is going into tomorrow's match unprepared. If sides don't practice on one day, it doesn't mean it isn't prepared. We would like to practice properly every day but preparation is something sides do very differently," Sangakkara said on Sunday.
Sangakkara feels that preparation is a mental side of the game, rather than a physical work out. "It will depend on what they are thinking about and the Indian team know that they are a good side. In ODI and T20 cricket, it doesn't matter what you have done even the day before. If you come in and perform well the next day, you can still win. So we know how dangerous India is. We will try and do our disciplines better than India hopefully tomorrow," he added.
Speaking about the long list of injuries in the Indian side, Sangakkara emphasised the need for a rotation policy, especially for the fast bowlers.
"From team point of view, we can recommend rest to certain players, especially fast bowlers because of their load. But the final call has to come from selectors, otherwise there is too much responsibility on individual player. And when you have a rotational policy, I think it is important that the player has the confidence that if you are rotated out of the team, you get first choice back. It doesn't matter if your replacement scores a hundred or a double," he said.
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