Windies skipper Ramdin cautions against underrating Sri Lanka

Port-of-Spain (Trinidad), Aug 15. West Indies Test Captain Denesh Ramdin has cautioned his side against underrating their next opponents, Sri Lanka, even though they are a team in transition.

The West Indies next tour will be in October against Sri Lanka where they will play two Tests, three One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and two T20 matches. Ramdin says while the Sri Lankans are rebuilding by drafting a number of young players into the squad, they still should not be taken for granted.

"The Sri Lankans are in a rebuilding phase and they have included a number of young players, so it is a good time to play them," said Ramdin.

"However, we are not going to under-estimate them, as they are in their own backyards and a number of their players still possess experience and quality, like the captain Angelo Mathews and their wicketkeeper Dinesh Chandimal. We have to go there with great fighting qualities and play good cricket to be successful."

The West Indies are seeking to rebound from a 0-2 defeat to Australia in the Caribbean earlier this year. Before that series, however, Ramdin's men earned a credible 1-1 draw against England in a three-match Test series in the Caribbean.

"I would like to see the batsmen not settling for one good score in a Test series. We need to be more consistent and score more centuries in order to give our bowlers something to work with," Ramdin said.

"As far as the bowling is concerned we need to be more consistent. They need to do the basics right on a more regular basis."

Ramdin's comments followed his meeting with the West Indies team management in Barbados on Wednesday.

Also attending were West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) president Dave Cameron, coach Phil Simmons, cricket operations manager Richard Pybus, chairman of selectors Clive Lloyd, manager Richie Richardson and limited overs captain Jason Holder.

"Basically we reviewed the last two tours at home. The guys all made their contributions and it was good to be included because I was able to make an input in the plans going forward," he said.

"As West Indies captain when you are invited to a meeting like this, it shows respect and I appreciated being there and making my contribution."

IANS