Nobody Should Think About Dhawan-Led India As 2nd-Strength Team: Muralidaran

Mumbai: Ex-Sri Lanka off-spinner Muthiah Muralidaran has said that Shikhar Dhawan-led Indian shouldn’t be considered as a “second-strength team” as it has players who have been performing in the regular Indian side.

The Indian contingent mainly consists of players who have done well in limited-overs cricket in recent times in India A and at the domestic level, except for a few first-choice white-ball players.

Despite having a strong line-up on paper, none of the players has played an official match since IPL 2021 was postponed to early May. Sri Lankan team, on the other hand, had recently returned from England where they played three T20Is and three ODIs.

“I would just say that they (India) haven’t played a match for a long time. Sri Lanka, somehow they have played some games, they didn’t perform well but still. When you play a game, the nerves and everything comes to the fore,” Muttiah Muralitharan told ESPN Cricinfo.

The former spinner further said that the first match will be a bit difficult for the Indian team.

“The first match will be a tough match for India as they have to play their A-game and if they miss, they will doubt themselves a bit. India is the favourites but a sniff for Sri Lanka as they have been playing cricket lately,” Muralitharan said.

The first ODI will be played on Sunday, July 18 at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

Muralitharan also talked about the strength and depth of the Indian team. He rightly said that the players have the experience of playing with the best in IPL which has helped them to improve their game. He also compared the Indian team to England, which believes Muralitharan exhibits similar bench strength.

“Nobody should even think about this (Indian team) as a second strength (team) because these players have been performing,” Muralitharan concluded.

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