Chamari Athapaththu excited to lead Sri Lanka at T20 World Cup

Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu expressed her excitement about leading the team in another ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. She highlighted the rapid growth of women’s cricket, Sri Lanka’s preparations, squad balance and the importance of the T20 format in expanding the game.

Hyderabad: Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu said that no matter what stage of your career you are at, a World Cup is hugely exciting and that she was extremely happy to get the opportunity to lead her country in yet another ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.

“The women’s game is on a massive growth curve and this will help make this latest edition even more interesting. From the time I started playing international cricket until now, the growth in women’s cricket has been marvellous to see,” Chamari told ICC Media.

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“I can vividly remember the first World Cup I played in 2009 as a 19-year-old, and to go from that point to where the game is now has been brilliant. And what’s more, this is only going to keep going in one direction,” she said.

“Our preparations have been going well. We have won the last two T20I series we played against West Indies and Bangladesh, both away from home, which has given our girls a huge confidence boost and some time in the middle. We also trained at Pallekele, which has helped us adapt to the conditions that we will get in England,” the Sri Lankan captain said.

“I feel we have a well-balanced squad for this competition. Our top order has worked together for a while and has gained a lot of T20I experience. Hasini Perera has started to deliver on her experience, Harshitha Samarawickrama brings solidity, we have a promising young batter in Imesha Dulani, and she is one to watch. Then Nilakshika De Silva brings experience to the middle order. We also have a nice blend of youth and experience in the bowling unit, and we are excited to get started in the tournament,” she said.

“We have been winning games during the last two-year period, during which time we have introduced some younger players to the side in order to improve our depth. Gradually, we are beginning to see our bench strength showing promise, and this is a result of the work that has gone into developing the game at various levels,” Chamari said.

“Whether it is improving our school cricket, district, provincial and U-19 national cricket, or emerging and ‘A’ teams, the results are starting to show. The competition to get into the national side is increasing, which is great news and will only benefit us in this World Cup and those in the future,” she said.

“My favourite part of any World Cup is representing my nation and leading a team that wants to do well for the country. As well as that, there is the chance to interact with players from all countries on one platform and to witness a highly competitive environment, where every player and every team is competing hard to deliver results for their nation,” Chamari said.

“The T20 format is playing a massive role in the development of the women’s game and will continue to do more in the coming years. A lot of countries are still getting into the game, and playing the longer format at the very beginning can be challenging. Having a short and quick game like T20 is an ideal platform to promote the women’s game, and we cannot wait to play our part in doing that over the coming weeks,” Chamari concluded.