Sri Lankan batsman Thilan Samaraweera spoke to espnstar.com in an exclusive interview on the upcoming tri-series and much more.

By Chandraboli Mitra

Having contributed impressively in Sri Lanka’s 2-0 Test series victory against New Zealand, where he scored two hundreds in as many matches, to not only surpass 1,000 runs this year but also bag the man-of-the-series award, he is now ready to shift his focus to the tri-series at home.

“I always take one series at a time. When you switch in and out of formats it is important you focus completely on the task at hand. So, till now the concentration was on beating New Zealand in the Test series.

“Next week, I'll start preparing for the tri-series. I will be practising different shots that one tends to use in the limited overs format and will also be working hard on my fielding. The tri-series will be really tough as both India and New Zealand are very good ODI teams. It will be a good test for our team,” said Samaraweera.

Samaraweera, who is averaging over 50 in Test cricket at the moment, admitted that switching mode from format of the game to another is something a professional cricketer must get used to quickly.

“Switching formats is something you have to get used to as a professional cricketer. It doesn't matter whether you are playing domestic or international cricket, you need to be able to adapt your game.”

The right-hand batsman, who played in the recently concluded ODI series against Pakistan, last played a one-dayer in November 2005. But when he was asked about how difficult it was for him, he simply said, “Switching to ODI mode was not difficult, although I'd had preferred to have scored more runs but I am looking forward to my next chance during the tri-series.”

The 32-year-old batsman, who has played only 21 one-dayers till now at an average of 16.60, confessed that it was ‘great’ to have got a chance to showcase his ability in the shorter version of the game after a gap of almost four years.

“When I got selected in the one-day squad against Pakistan, I thought it was a fantastic opportunity to play for the ODI team again after such a long time. But I was disappointed to have not scored more runs but we won the series 3-2 and that's the main thing.

“I am a different player now to the batsman who last played ODI back in 2005. I have matured as a cricketer and have also become a little more positive after working hard on my game. I hope that hard-work will help me perform in the middle-order and help cement a place in the ODI team as well. It will be tough as we have lots of fine players vying for spots but I just want to give it my maximum effort.”

Determined to take the confidence of beating Pakistan in the ODIs and New Zealand in Tests into the tri-series, Samaraweera stressed on the importance of guarding against complacency.

“Winning as a team is always satisfying and to beat Pakistan, one of the world's most dangerous one-day teams, for the first time in Sri Lanka was really special. The gloss of winning was taken off a little by losing the final two games and the T20, which was disappointing.

“But it shows how we can't be complacent and how we must strive to get better and better. Sri Lanka is in the lower half of the ODI rankings at present and we desperately want to improve that ranking.”