Mathews asks struggling Lanka to play with freedom in World T20

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Last Updated : Mar 10 2016 | 12:32 PM IST

Sri Lanka's Angelo Mathews, who has recently replaced injured Lasith Malinga as the T20 skipper, believes that the World T20 would allow his side to get free from the burden of expectation.

Sri Lanka, which have slipped down to the eighth spot in the T20 rankings, will head into the T20 pinnacle event following a disastrous performance at the recently-concluded Asia Cup in Bangladesh.

Despite the recent slump in form, the 28-year-old called on his side to play with a lot of freedom, saying that it would allow them to beat most teams, Sport24 reported.

Lanka, which have claimed their last World T20 title in Bangladesh in 2014, have been badly weakened after the retirements of star batsmen Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene and have also struggled to fill the void left by them.

Mathews, however, said that the morale of the team was quite good and they were not at all depressed about the Asia Cup.

He added that his side was focusing on expressing themselves fully in the upcoming challenge.

Sri Lanka will begin their ICC World T20 tournament at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on March 17.

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First Published: Mar 10 2016 | 12:25 PM IST

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