Sri Lanka seamer Thilan Thushara in an exclusive chat with espnstar.com said India will be a huge challenge to meet.

By Chandraboli Mitra

Q. You had an excellent outing during the One-day series against Pakistan and you also bagged the man of the series award. How satisfying was it for you?

Winning my first man of the series award was a real honour. I was really pleased with my performances in the series and during the recent test matches. A lot of credit for that needs to go to my coaches, especially Paul Farbrace, Anusha Samaranayake  and Chandika Hathurasingha, who have been working really hard with me. With their help I have become more consistent and I’ve started to swing the ball back into the right-handers more consistently. I know, though, that I still have a long way to go and I hope the series award is just the first major achievement for me.
 
Q. Since contemporary cricket is too much in favour of the batsmen, what kind of challenge do you face as a pacer?

Bowling on some of the tracks we play on these days is not easy. But as a bowler we have to adapt and we have to develop. There is no point in complaining about things. I know I have to improve my slower deliveries and I am working on that now, adding one out of the back of the hand. The bowlers that learn and perfect new skills will be the ones that perform the best on flat pitches.
 
Q. Do you feel the void in the Sri Lankan team after Chaminda Vaas’ retirement?

Vaasy was a Sri Lanka cricket legend and as a young fast bowler I know it is going to be a challenge to follow in his footsteps. But we have all learned from him the importance of working hard and being disciplined and professional. He has also been really supportive and has been willing help us which is really nice of him. He called me up before the first New Zealand test and gave me some tips on my run-up that were really useful and I was very grateful.
 
Q. How are you preparing for the upcoming tri-series involving India and New Zealand?

Right now my focus is on the test series. We have won the first game and now need to make sure we bag the series. However, we are all looking forward to the tri-series. Playing against India at home again will be a huge challenge for us and we really want to make up for the two defeats we had last year and earlier this year.
 
Q. Which are the batsmen you are looking forward to bowl to in the upcoming tri-series?

For me, bowling to Sachin Tendulkar is always a challenge and I am really looking forward to it.