Isuri Udana, a participant in Sri Lanka, believes that his team's new ODI team will be free to speak out against Bangladesh in the upcoming ODI series of three games as it does not carry the expected weight.
Sri Lanka entered the series without some experienced players to give some new faces the chance. Bangladesh, on the other hand, has universal veteran Shakib al-Hassan, who has returned to the 15-man squad announced for the first two matches of a three-match series on Thursday after missing the New Zealand tour due to paternity leave. He also missed the Sri Lankan test series to play in the Indian Premier League.
"To be honest, Bangladesh has a few superstars on its team (and is expected to bear the brunt of hope) as long as we have a country that's young and there's nothing to lose," Udana told BCB Academy reporters on Thursday.
"We are here to beat them so we want to do our best to beat these boys because they are very dangerous in their home and we know that," he said.
The heat and humidity in Dhaka has hit the cricketers but, according to Udana, they are better prepared for the conditions than the hosts.
"I don't think (the heat and humidity will be a problem) because Sri Lanka is hotter," he said, adding, "We are used to living with bio-bubbles. I think we are ready because we have five - or have a six-day training camp in Colombo. We also had two good sessions here, so I think everyone's ready. ""
33-year-old Udana is expected to lead the bowling attack in the absence of several senior cricketers. Left-handed people, however, believe that everyone should be held accountable.
"In terms of selection, we cannot control these things. We are here to do the best we can," he said. "In this game we all have to be responsible because I can be an experienced bowler but one day a young person can be better than me. I think we all have to stick together and share experiences," he said.
"I have played the BPL (Bangladesh Premier League) here for 3-4 years so I have a little bit of experience. On this day we have to do our best to beat this team. So that's our plan," he said.
Udana added that his experience at the IPL at the RCB camp will help him in the coming days, adding that he only likes slower balls when terrain conditions help him.
“First I saw the gate and when I noticed it was slow and old I used it more often (slower delivery). I've experienced this for years so now feel like I can, "he concluded.
