Asia Cup 2018: The IPL Is A Big Advantage For Us: Kusal Perera

Sri Lanka batsman Kusal Perera has said the Indian Premier League (IPL) is helping the teams to learn more about the opposition. The left-handed batsman is currently gearing up for the upcoming Asia Cup.

Sri Lanka will have high hopes from their hard-hitting top-order batsman Kusal Perera when the Asia Cup gets underway. The Islanders are not the force they were few years ago. Their fortunes in limited-overs cricket have been poor to say the least in recent times.

They were recently battered at home by South Africa. But then again one cannot rule out one of the most successful teams of the competition. Sri Lanka have won the Asia Cup five times and will be looking to make the most of their experience. And ahead of the competition, Perera has said IPL has helped his side learn more about the opposition players. He also said the team is banking on veteran pacer Lasith Malinga’s IPL experience to know more about the players.

“The IPL is a big advantage for us because we get to know the bowlers and batters around the world very well,” he said. “We also could get to know how they are playing and managing the different situations. So we can learn a lot. (Lasith) Malinga is playing a lot in the IPL. We are using him to gain some advantage from his knowledge too.”

Sri Lanka will open their campaign against Bangladesh in the tournament-opener on September 15.

When asked about the game, a confident Perera said:

“As a team we are very confident, we have backed ourselves very well. We have done our homework. We are taking one game at a time. As we are facing Bangladesh we are trying to give it our best shot and will see how the result goes.”

Sri Lanka, meanwhile, will have their task cut out due to the absence of some key players. Their middle-order batsmen Dinesh Chandimal and allrounder Danushka Gunathilaka have been ruled out due to injuries. On the other hand, their spin-spearhead Akila Dananjaya will miss the early part of the tournament to attend the birth of his child.