Sri Lanka captain Marvan Atapattu has mixed feelings as he flies into India on what is his fourth tour of the sub-continent at the head of a team in need of reshaping. Whether this first Sri Lanka tour of India since December 1997 will achieve some of the long-term planning depends on how the 34-year-old skipper Atapattu and coach Tom Moody view the squad’s development during the split series of seven ODIs and three Tests.There have been a few pre-tour problems: Northeast monsoon conditions have forced the squad indoors a number of times, which is not the ideal way to prepare for a tour of India.There was also a recurrence of Sanath Jayasuriya’s right shoulder injury during a team bonding session on Monday, when one of the squad members tripped and fell on top of the attacking left-hander.The captain sought to maintain a bullish outlook. ‘‘Look, it’s not a serious injury, he can bat and field. But he can’t bowl, and that’s a problem area for us,’ he said, nodding thoughtfully. ‘‘You know, he is such a valuable option as a bowler.’’Atapattu’s side arrive in India as the ICC’s Number 2 ODI team, with himself enjoying the status of ICC limited overs captain for 2005. It’s a team effort, he was quick to point out. Sure, he felt honoured, but there would be no added pressure because of the honour.‘‘We all played a part in this. It is also up to me to continue improving the standard of our game to meet the challenge of other teams.’’He was more concerned about the Jayasuriya problem and the effect on the bowling attack in the shorter games. ‘‘His absence as a bowler lessens our options, and we need to find a way around this and seriously look at our planning for the matches’’, he agreed.What does the series have in store for Sri Lanka? ‘‘We all know that it’s a long time since we’ve played in India, and we haven’t won a Test there either. Starting the tour as we do, with seven one-dayers, we know we have to do well before progressing to the Test series. We’ll be trying out a few ideas when we have our first pre-series game.‘‘It is also going to be a challenge in that it is not the traditional tour. It is the first time we have played seven ODIs in a series and our focus will need to be on this side of the tour.’’Sri Lanka have done well this year and have a good home record but Atapattu is aware of ground realities. ‘‘We know that in India it’s going to be a whole new ball game. We are all geared up for that and hopefully after the (practice) game on Saturday we will be prepared to take on India from the first ODI.’’One of the main differences between the two teams, at least in the ODIs, is the depth of bowling experience. Sri Lanka have Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan spearheading their attack.Atapattu, though, didn’t express surprise at the inexperience of the Indian attack in the squad named. ‘‘It’s only for the first two games and they obviously want to try out a few things. It will be interesting to face a few new bowlers’’, he smiled. ‘‘But we also have a few ideas of our own and this is where our bowling options will be carefully considered.’’As with Moody, Atapattu agreed that the next six months would be a major challenging period for the squad. What has gone before this tour of India was history, the side and players would be judged by the achievements on this tour of India along with those of New Zealand, Australia and England. ‘‘After that we will know where we are and where we are heading.’’Marvan-ous batsman• Marvan Atapattu, a fine batting technician and master of the percentage game, has a remarkable habit of scoring double Test centuries: six of his 15 three figures scores are above the 200 mark• His Test career began in 1990/91 with a whimper: six ducks in his first seven Test innings, spread over six years• His first century (108) was in Chandigarh, 1997-98. At that stage, his Test record was a top score of 29 from 16 innings, including six ducks, his 251 runs coming at an average of 15.68
