It won’t make a great impact if the practice match is rained out — Dimuth Karunaratne

The Sri Lankan camp is unconcerned about the two-day practice match against BCB XI being rained off, according to Dimuth Karunaratne, because they have prepared for the two-match Test series at home, and the conditions in Bangladesh are similar. On May 15, Bangladesh will play Sri Lanka at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in the first match of the series.

The two-day practice match between the visiting Sri Lankan side and the BCB XI ended in a dull tie as rain limited the action on the BKSP-3 site to only 18.2 overs. When the umpires called a halt to the final day’s play, Sri Lanka XI had a score of 50–1.

“I believe we just trained in Sri Lanka for a few weeks and the conditions are very similar, so I don’t think the practice match will make a huge difference,” the Sri Lanka captain said. “We’ve completed enough follow right here and are well prepared for the sequence,” he continued.

Meanwhile, Shakib, who was ruled out of the first Check due to COVID-19, is back in the running for the series opener after testing unfavorable on May 12.

On his part, Karunaratne said that the presumed tank has already made arrangements for the all-rounder. They may also want to stick to the template. “We had a strategy for Shakib when he was there, and we might have one for him as well.” He’s a great all-around player. We’re going to give it our all and see how things turn out.”

Karunaratne further stated that the setup is focused on the Check sequence rather than the current condition of events in Sri Lanka. “Everyone is aware of what is going on. We’re all here to play cricket, and that’s the only thing that matters to us. The only thing we can do is offer a positive outcome for the people who reside there.”