Sri Lankan captain Angelo Mathews has admitted that his men is facing the challenge of overcoming 'rustiness' ahead of their first Test in nine months against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
Sri Lanka has not played since beating minnows Bangladesh 1-0 in a two-Test series at home in March and their last Test against a major opponent was in January when they played Australia.
According to Sport24, Mathews said that as they are playing a Test after a long time, it is a challenge for them as a team despite playing some four-day cricket, as he fears that there might be a 'bit of rustiness' among the players.
Sri Lanka's second challenge in the three-Test series will be to thwart wily Saeed Ajmal, and Mathews showed confidence his team will cope well against the Pakistani off-spinner.
The second Test will be played in Dubai (January 8-12) and the third in Sharjah (January 16-20), the report added.
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