[VIDEO] "I regret not coming to Pakistan for the LOI series" : Dimuth Karunaratne

[Abdullah719]

Dimuth Karunaratne at a presser:

"It's my first time in Pakistan and I'm really excited. A Test match is being played in Pakistan for the first time after 10 years, it's a pleasure for me to be part of that. We will try to play a good series and try to beat Pakistan"

"Most of the guys are touring Pakistan for the first time and playing. I think it's a good pace wicket, but we know the Pakistan team closely and we have a few plans against each player. We'll try to stick to our basics and do the right things at the right time"

"Mickey is with us, previously he was Pakistan coach so it's a positive for us. He knows the Pakistan team really closely so we have confidence from that"

"It's a big advantage for us that he was working closely working with the Pakistan team. But we have to do the things right on the field, that's the main thing. We want to play positive cricket and take the advantage"

"This is the side we've playing with after Mahela and Sanga, it's been almost 4 years now. I can't say we are in a rebuilding process, we have some experience with myself, Angelo, Chandimal, K Perera, Thirimanne, a lot of senior players are here. We want to play good cricket here"

 

[MenInG]

Interestinng point this - how much will Mickey Arthur's knowledge of the weaknesses of Pakistan batsmen be a factor in the outcome of the series?

 

[silentkiller187]

Interestinng point this - how much will Mickey Arthur's knowledge of the weaknesses of Pakistan batsmen be a factor in the outcome of the series?

TBH the state of our batsmen at the moment, it doesn't take a genius to work out our batting deficiencies, hopefully it spurs our fringe players on to prove mickey wrong.

 

[MenInG]

And to prove the point, here are Mickey Arthur's comments taken before arrival in Pakistan

"Rawalpindi wickets are generally very good, they are very good to bat on and big first innings scores are going to be important for us, and then precision and accuracy and building pressure with our bowlers will hopefully be the winning recipe for us over there"

 

[Shazzam]

Mickey gonna be a lingering snake that will cripple us slowly. This match will be a bloodbath.

 

[Markhor]

Mickey will have done his homework against Pakistan.

He knows our mental midgets inside out and will know what weaknesses to target.

 

[Plumb]

Like we need a grand plan to be beaten Lakmal is enough for our batting lineup.

 

[KingT]

Like we need a grand plan to be beaten Lakmal is enough for our batting lineup.

He's out with Dengue

 

[Plumb]

He's out with Dengue

That's even worse.... Whenever we face a new bowler within the range of 130kph we are bound to give him a fifer...

 

[HappyWarsFan]

Doesn't matter. Mickey Arthur does not know asian conditions.

 

[MenInG]

Mickey will have done his homework against Pakistan.

He knows our mental midgets inside out and will know what weaknesses to target.

<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe src="https://streamable.com/s/i3owg/nfdofp" frameborder="0" width="50%" height="50%" allowfullscreen style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;"></iframe></div>

And here he is....

 

[Slog]

Mickeys understanding of Asian conditions is pathetic.

He’s not a threat

 

[babajee]

Mickey on Kusal Mendis - "I'd say he's almost as good as Babar Azam was at this age"

 

[Abdullah719]

Mickey on Kusal Mendis - "I'd say he's almost as good as Babar Azam was at this age"

"Mickey Arthur said I can be Sri Lanka's Faheem Ashraf" - Thisara Perera

 

[Slog]

Mickey on Kusal Mendis - "I'd say he's almost as good as Babar Azam was at this age"

Babar was obv Kohli
Shaheen was Starc
Shafiq was Tendulkar
Faheem was Klusener
Fakhar was Hayden?

 

[Hawkeye]

Of course.

"We're a proud team and we hate losing".

Enough said.

 

[Abdullah719]

Of course.

"We're a proud team and we hate losing".

Enough said.

Indeed, he knows Azhar Ali closely

 

[Titan24]

Mickey Arther's knowledge of Aus and SA team along with their conditions really helped Pakistan team while touring, it could have been much worse than a whitewash but Mickey saved Pak.

 

[Hawkeye]

Indeed, he knows Azhar Ali closely

Azhar learned from the best!

 

[Hawkeye]

Mickey Arther's knowledge of Aus and SA team along with their conditions really helped Pakistan team while touring, it could have been much worse than a whitewash but Mickey saved Pak.

Karunaratne is too masoom.

 

[Markhor]

Here comes the usual hate brigade.

When was the last time we won an international in any format ? Forget losing, now we're struggling to lose with any dignity thanks to Misbah/Waqar/Azhar combo.

 

[Titan24]

Here comes the usual hate brigade.

When was the last time we won an international in any format ? Forget losing, now we're struggling to lose with any dignity thanks to Misbah/Waqar/Azhar combo.

Hate brigade? I am putting forward the facts regarding Krunaratne's statement and Mickey Arther and if they are wrong you have every right to correct them. Misbah/Waqar and Azhar combo isnt the topic of discussion of this thread.

Even if the new management is poor, it doesnt mean Mickey was a great coach. Two wrongs dont make a right.

 

[CricFan2012]

Mickey gonna be a lingering snake that will cripple us slowly. This match will be a bloodbath.

Bloodbath? Babar ghar me guske maray ga bowlers ko

 

[HappyWarsFan]

Here comes the usual hate brigade.

When was the last time we won an international in any format ? Forget losing, now we're struggling to lose with any dignity thanks to Misbah/Waqar/Azhar combo.

Let's ignore t20 since it's not real cricket.

So we've played 2 ODis, won both. Lost 2 tests to Aus but that's the hardest possible assignment for new management. Better judge will be how we do vs SL and BDesh at home.

 

[Hawkeye]

Here comes the usual hate brigade.

When was the last time we won an international in any format ? Forget losing, now we're struggling to lose with any dignity thanks to Misbah/Waqar/Azhar combo.

Ummm... first series under new management, whitewashed SL in ODIs.

 

[topspin]

Here comes the usual hate brigade.

When was the last time we won an international in any format ? Forget losing, now we're struggling to lose with any dignity thanks to Misbah/Waqar/Azhar combo.

Point well made.

 

[pratiktc]

Sri Lanka bowling is nothing great and pitches will also be friendly mostly. So not really concerned about Arthur strategies.

Pak should worry about how to get 20 wkts. Batting will come good on these tracks anyway.

 

[Mean&Green]

You don’t need to know anything about the Pakistani team just play your worst bowler in the country make him debut and Pakistani batsmen will make him into a star. Previous examples Ryan Harris duavanne Oliver even Marcus friekn North Nathan hauritz Kane Richardson Glenn maxwell Steven Finn jade dernbach man I can go on and on how many careers have Pakistani batsmen made of terrible bowlers

 

[Xoib]

Lol at Ryan haris being a terrible bowler he is better then anything we produced barring Ik,W's and Fazal

 

[MenInG]

Sri Lanka captain speaking to the press

"Pakistan bowled well after lunch with a good line and length and they kept frustrating us and we made mistakes because we were struggling to get runs"

"We have a target of 300 in mind"

"I think it was a 50/50 day, we dominated the first session but they came back hard. The wicket was really good to bat on"

"The spectators gave us a lot of support, I saw some boards welcoming us so these are some positive things. When you go to other countries, you don't have supporters from other countries' fans but Pakistan have given us a good, warm welcome"

"For me, batting first is the right decision because we have 2 spinners"

 

[MenInG]

Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne said on Wednesday, 11 December that his side needed to capitalise on good starts with the bat if they were to be competitive on their tour of Pakistan.

Sri Lanka finished the curtailed first day's play on 202/5, having opted to bat, with Karunaratne himself top-scoring with 59 before being trapped in front by Shaheen Shah Afridi. Only Dinesh Chandimal failed to reach double figures, with Osahada Fernando (40) and Angelo Mathews (31) both falling short of half-centuries.

"We got good starts, but no one went for a big score," Karunaratne said after play. "We got a few 20s and 30s. We need to be converting those scores if we want to win a Test. Everyone, including me, has to make sure we don't let go once we get those starts in the next innings, if we can."

Having said that, Karunaratne was full of praise for his opening partner Fernando, with whom he put on 96 runs for the first wicket. "Oshada batted really well. This is only his third Test, and his attitude and batting style were very good," said the Sri Lanka captain. "He batted with a lot of confidence. That became a strength for me as well. I knew I could give him the strike without any fear.

"I thought he was batting even better than me in the first session. There were one or two times when he was getting a bit loose, and at those times, I just reminded him to make sure he capitalsies on his start."

While he wasn't displeased with the situation his side had ended up in, Karunaratne conceded there was room for improvement in their approach to the innings, particularly when it came to pacing it.

"There was a bit of swing in that second session, and a little seam," said Karunaratne, "but I think we could have used a different approach because we'd had a good start, having made 89 in the first session. Maybe we could have been more of a threat to their bowlers after lunch. We should have batted a bit more positively, because when the runs are ticking over on the board, even if wickets fall, it's not such a big deal."

We need to try and get to 300, because we need a good total to give our bowlers a chance. We got a good start and didn't capitalise. Dikka [Niroshan Dickwella] opens the batting in shorter formats, and Dhananjaya [de Silva] has come in at No.3 for us in the past, so both of them should be able to negotiate the second new ball when that comes around. Hopefully, they can get us past 275, and then the tail can get a few extra runs."


https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/1527331

 

[AFM]

"Guys, just make sure Asad Technique gets to his 50. We'll be golden for the rest of the series"

 

[Captain caveman]

vs :mickey
We will find out shortly who is worse!

 

[Abdullah719]

Sri Lanka Cricket officials met Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan.

 

[omairsiddiqui]

Saw Mickey walking and chatting with the Pakistan boys in the outfield. There was Shan, Imam, Babar and a couple others.

 

[tyron_woodley]

Lol at Ryan haris being a terrible bowler he is better then anything we produced barring Ik,W's and Fazal

he is a home track bully. He was a complete dud cannonnfodder vs india and Pakistan away from home.

 

[Bhaijaan]

In our great 5,000 years old Hindu mythology there is a saying :-

''Ghar ka bhedi, Lanka dhaaye."

Mickey here is Ghar ka Bhedi (GKB)

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Dimuth Karunaratne "I'd like to thank the Pakistan fans who supported us as well. When you travel around the world you will not get support from the opponents fans but Pakistan fans have made us feel very welcome & supported us a lot" <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PAKvSL?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PAKvSL</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/1206178377792659458?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 15, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Dimuth Karunaratne "We went out last night and saw that Pakistan fans are really good and really humble. We love Pakistan fans" <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PAKvSL?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PAKvSL</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/1206179032351555584?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 15, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[MenInG]

ISLAMABAD, Dec 15 (APP):Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser Sunday said the visit of Srilankan Cricket team would help to revive international cricket in Pakistan.

He made these remarks as chief guest at the dinner and interaction in the honour of Sri Lanka and Pakistan National cricket teams jointly organized by the Embassy of Sri Lanka and Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) here.

He said it was a great step taken by the government of Sri Lanka for supporting Pakistan to get international cricket back in the country.

“Pakistan has proved to the world that it’s a peaceful country and now Pakistan Super League (PSL) would also be played in the Pakistan,” he added.

Asad appreciated cricket boards of Pakistan and Sri Lanka for their endeavours for turning that into reality.

The Speaker said that Pakistan had been subjected to worst terrorism which affected the peace and stability of the country however, with the concerted counter terrorism strategy of Government, the Armed Forces and law enforcing agencies, successfully uprooted the menace.

The Speaker later individually met players of both the cricket teams and their management officials.

Captain of Sri Lanka’s National Cricket Team Dimuth Karunaratne said it was his first time to visit Pakistan and had heard a lot about Pakistan through media reports but after arriving here it was quite different as projected in the news. “Pakistan has hosted many sports events before this test match and I would thank Pakistani government and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for providing security.”

He added that the atmosphere and hospitality by the people of Pakistan was unmatched as such reception and love had never been extended by any hosting nation to us.

Inspector General Islamabad Capital Territory Police Muhammad Aamir Zulfiqar Khan said, “I am grateful to Srilankan cricket board, its team captain and the ambassador designate in Pakistan Noorden Mohamed Shaheid for coming back to Pakistan.”

He said this year was very hectic for the Islamabad Police as it hosted the maximum dignitaries visiting to Pakistan including the British Royal Couple, the Dutch Queen and the Srilankan cricket team.

“All the law enforcement agencies have given their best to provide security to the Srilankan cricket team,” he added.

Srilankan Ambassador Noorden Mohamed Shaheid said Sri Lanka was the first country to initiate diplomatic ties with Pakistan in 1948 and this time we had continued to be the first to revive international cricket in the country after a decade.

There was much propaganda that due to poor security situation in Pakistan the Srilankan cricket was not visiting Pakistan whereas we had proved it wrong, he added.

Executive Director SDPI Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri said it was an important moment for us as international cricket had revived due to the valiant Srilankan cricket team players coming to Pakistan. Without government’s patronage it was not possible to bring international cricket back to home grounds.

Meanwhile, Rabia Zakir a local artist presented a portrait to Sri Lanka’s cricket team captain in the memory of their visit to Pakistan.

https://www.app.com.pk/srilankan-cr...evive-international-cricket-in-pakistan-asad/

 

[mgtow]

Azhar learned from the best!

Misbah?

 

[Abdullah719]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-N-G5IKju7Q" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>.

 

[Abdullah719]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Dimuth Karunaratne "For me, Pakistan feels very safe. The guys who are providing security give you more than 100%. We feel good. We went out for dinner as well. Me and my team feel really safe here. I can say that Pakistan is safe for cricket" <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PAKvSL?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PAKvSL</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/1207215625476694016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">D Karunaratne "I regret not coming to Pakistan for ODI & T20I series but it was a hard decision as I'd never been here, I just heard about Pakistan from news & social media. But the guys who came said really good things so we decided we should go & play the Test series" <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PAKvSL?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PAKvSL</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/1207216860405653504?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[big_gamer007]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Dimuth Karunaratne "For me, Pakistan feels very safe. The guys who are providing security give you more than 100%. We feel good. We went out for dinner as well. Me and my team feel really safe here. I can say that Pakistan is safe for cricket" <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PAKvSL?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PAKvSL</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/1207215625476694016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">D Karunaratne "I regret not coming to Pakistan for ODI & T20I series but it was a hard decision as I'd never been here, I just heard about Pakistan from news & social media. But the guys who came said really good things so we decided we should go & play the Test series" <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PAKvSL?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PAKvSL</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/1207216860405653504?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The second quote sums it up perfectly. Media and social media show Pakistan as an unsafe place, unless that changes only way to get tourism and sports is by word of mouth and taking small steps like these.

 

[Abdullah719]

Quotes from final presser after the 2nd Test:

Towards the end of Day 2, we were trying too many things and gave away too many runs. They took the momentum and kept going. When they had some runs on the board, we panicked. The bowlers have to show a bit more patience and we didn't do well with our lines and lengths.

Abid Ali was really hungry to score runs because he's gotten a chance to play Test cricket at 32. We were seeing he wasn't playing any loose shots, he kept batting and batting and that's a good sign for Pakistan. In future, we'll see how he bats against others and have plans for him.

200%, the security was really good. They were like fathers for us. They were behind us everytime whenever we went anywhere. That's really good and we felt very secure and safe here. They have done a really good job. Pakistani fans are really good, they kept supporting us. Thanks to the security guys, PCB guys, etc. We were never expecting that but now we know Pakistan is really safe and we're looking forward to playing again here. All the other countries and nations playing cricket can come and play here, Tests, ODIs and T20Is, it's safe to play in Pakistan.

Naseem Shah was really mature, he's 16 but he looks more mature. His line and length was very accurate so we couldn't get many runs. He didn't give us any loose balls. We weren't expecting a 16 year old to bowl like that, he was really impressive. We saw how he bowled well in Australia too but here he bowled really quick and the lines and lengths are really good, he looks like a mature cricketer.

Abid is really good but Babar looks solid and he was playing easily. Abid did the hard work vs the new ball, for me that's the tough time to play against fresh bowlers. Babar got that hundred very easily.

 

[MenInG]

We Thank Sri Lanka !

 

[moghul]

Thanks SL, you're now my 2nd favorite team, after Pakistan.

 

[Slog]

Mickey will have done his homework against Pakistan.

He knows our mental midgets inside out and will know what weaknesses to target.

Taken to the cleaners.

Mickey is kiss of death for a Test team

 

[saeed5646]

Thanks SL, you're now my 2nd favorite team, after Pakistan.

Was about to write this .

 

[Markhor]

Taken to the cleaners.

Mickey is kiss of death for a Test team

Merry Christmas for you Slog, you got your present early

 

[Hasan123]

This guy is a class act and good ambassador for Sri Lankan cricket. He should provide some stability as a captain. The team selection has been stable whilst he has been captain.

 

[Shazzam]

Taken to the cleaners.

Mickey is kiss of death for a Test team

I agree he ruined ours by losing and giving form to un performing players.

 

[Slog]

Merry Christmas for you Slog, you got your present early

To be honest I prefer him over Misbah.

I just didn’t like his stubbornness as far as test cricket tactics in Asia were concerned.