Sri Lanka depart for Australia confident of T20 World Cup success

All the squads for ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022

The Asian country failed to qualify directly for the Super 12 stage of the tournament in Australia and will instead need to finish in the top two of their first round group that consists of Namibia, Netherlands and the UAE just to keep their dreams alive of a second T20 World Cup title.

Prior to their opening first round match against Namibia on October 16, Sri Lanka will get the chance to acclimatise to the conditions Down Under when they take on Zimbabwe and Ireland in vital warm-up matches prior to the tournament commencing.

And Shanaka thinks participating in all those matches will hand his side a distinct advantage when the tournament nears its completion in the middle of November.

"The last T20 World Cup (in UAE) we played the qualifying round and got into the tournament proper because we adapted to the ground conditions we had an advantage," Shanaka said prior to Sri Lanka departing for Australia on Saturday.

"The five matches which we are due to play in Australia will be to our advantage because we can read the conditions and the wickets going into the Super 12.

"From ground to ground the dimensions change, the bowlers need a lot of variations.

"They cannot succeed with one or two variations. We must prepare well for it. The bowlers have an idea of what is expected of them.

"The batsmen, we have spoken about how the top order batsmen are going to play in the Powerplay. We have set a good standard in fielding and our intention is to take our processes forward. I am always concerned about the process, it all depends on the day how you deliver. If we make the right decisions and do the right things on that day we can win."

Sri Lanka coach Chris Silverwood - who led the team to success at the Asia Cup last month - echoed the sentiments of his captain, but warned his team not to expect their first round opponents to be a mere pushover.

"You have to treat the teams with the same respect like you would against teams like India, Australia or England," the experienced coach said.

"We have to beat them, we have to make sure we do well. To me as a team we really should instil our disciplines and make sure we win.”

"There are always areas to improve like setting totals which we did really well in the final (Asia Cup). It is something we haven’t done a great deal and something for us to think about. Equally, the bowling, we are still working on the yorkers to make it successful on Australian wickets. There is constant work in progress.”

"What has impressed me most are quite a few things. Firstly, their willingness to learn, willingness to adapt and try new things which is really refreshing. You’ve seen the results of that. The camaraderie in the team. When I arrived, I said the talent was awesome, I think they have shown us on the big stage against big teams as well. It’s a combination of all these things put together that makes it an exciting prospect."