India is the best team in the world in all the formats: Marvan Atapattu

Sri Lanka’s tough times carried on when a formidable Indian side arrived in the Island nation for a full tour of 3 Tests, 5 ODIs, and a T20I. The home side got an emphatic thrashing by Kohli’s mean, who won all the nine game to complete the tour undefeated. Reflecting on the performances of both the teams, former Sri Lankan captain Marvan Atapattu rated India as the best team in the world at the moment.

India numero uno, claims Atapattu

Atapattu hailed India’s performances inside and outside the subcontinent in recent times and also spoke about the Sri Lanka’s recent results which were affected by the lack of self-confidence in the players. The 46-year-old appealed for effective grooming of the players as the domestic structure in Sri Lanka is weak.

“Obviously I am disappointed (with Sri Lanka losing 0-9 to India). But India is the best team in the world in all the formats. It is not like good old days, now India is the best not only in the sub continent but outside too.” says the former Sri Lankan captain.

“Sri Lanka, unfortunately, have been having problems. I will stay away from using the word transition because that has been going on for too long for my liking. When you look at the players and the group, obviously you feel that they lack self-confidence.” Atapattu was quoted saying to the International Business Times during the Karnataka Premier League (KPL) at Mysuru on Friday.

“Now that we don’t have the strongest domestic structure and the strongest school cricket set up you must be very careful in grooming players. Hopefully, you give them a long run once they are chosen to represent Sri Lanka, otherwise, you will be going forward and back. And you will realize that you are at the same place.” The Sri Lankan opener said.

Lesser interactions with opposition players during our times: Atapattu

With increasing of the T20 leagues, the players across the boundaries are knowing each other very well and a chance of building a great bond. However, Atapattu says that they didn’t have a chance of interacting much with opposition country players during their time though they had immense respect towards them.

“Unfortunately, like the modern day games, we did not have too many interactions with opposition players. It was very unfortunate. We were good friends and just said hi, bye. Interactions happened very, very rarely. But we had a good relationship. We respected them (Indian players). We had a lot of respect for all opponents. Now because of IPL and other T20 tournaments, a lot of players get together more.” said Atapattu.

The 46-year-old came down to India for taking up the mentor role of the KPL team Belagavi Panthers. Atapattu says that this is a great opportunity for the youngsters to showcase their talent. “I am very pleased and privileged to work with this young and enthusiastic group. KPL is a great opportunity for players to showcase their talent and move to the next level, the IPL and further. It is a great opportunity not only for the players but also to me to share my experience and give them much needed boost and morale.”