Cannot take Sri Lanka lightly; every series, every match is important: Rahane

AHEAD OF THE opening Test against Sri Lanka in Kolkata, India batsman Ajinkya Rahane has stated that his side is not going to take Sri Lanka lightly despite whitewashing the side early this year.

Virat Kohli’s men won the Test, the ODI and the T20 series played in Sri Lanka. While addressing the media on Facebook live, Rahane said that his team is not thinking about the past and is fully focussed on the upcoming series.

“This series is totally different from what we played in Sri Lanka. We know the conditions but we are not taking Sri Lanka lightly though we had a good series there. For us each and every series, every match is important. We are just focusing on this series right now. We just want to play our game instead of thinking about their strategies.”

India is set to fly South Africa to engage in three Tests, six ODIs and three T20Is, starting January, next year. However, Rahane believes that his men will focus on the series only before going on the tour. 

“South Africa will be completely different. If we want to be no 1 team, every series is important. We will think about South Africa when we go there. This is an important series for Sri Lanka as well and they have been preparing really well. So we won’t be taking them lightly.”

Speaking about the Kolkata wicket, the 29-year-old added,

“We will have to wait for the match to get started. Still two days to go and I am not too sure of the wicket. You just have to wait for the match to start.”

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