'We are not reluctant to play India but preparation not ideal'

Visiting Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews says they are not reluctant tourists but they needed to prepare better to take on a tough side like India in their own backyard.
BCCI convinced Sri Lanka Cricket to send their team for the series after West Indies players pulled out of their tour mid-way.
"It's not that we are reluctant to play a series. It is however not the ideal preparation for a tour like India. We know that India is a tough place to play cricket and you need your preparation on a high to play the series against India in India, especially. In the past one-and-half months we were focusing on our fitness a lot and suddenly this tour came up, so we had to take it," Mathews said ahead of their tour opener against India A here tomorrow.

"After the Pakistan series we had a couple of months off. We had about 10 days' complete rest and then started our physical fitness because we had been playing right through. We were planning on hitting our peak levels during the English tour but this was a sudden shift.
"And as players, you need to take those in a positive way. These things happen and as players, you need to adapt to those situations and get the maximum out of it," he added.
Mathews, the pace-bowling all-rounder, feels his team cannot be complacent against India even when the hosts are without regular captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who has been rested for the first three ODIs.

"Dhoni is a pillar of strength to the Indian team. We all know what a dangerous player he is. If he is not in the Indian team then the opposition might think hang on, we have got a chance here. But you can't be complacent against a team like India," said Mathews.
"They have a very well balanced team. They have good batters, good bowlers and good fielders, so we can't be complacent thinking that Dhoni is not around. But definitely Dhoni is a big factor in the Indian team," he said
The ODI series was hurriedly arranged after the West Indies decided to abandon their India tour midway over a pay dispute involving their board and the players' association.