CARDIFF, May 25 (Reuters) - World record wicket taker Muttiah Muralitharan's retirement from test cricket last year means Sri Lanka must select two bowlers, instead of one, to make up for his absence, captain Tillakaaratne Dilshan said.
"We have to play six batsmen and five bowlers (instead of four) now as Murali normally bowled 40 overs every day," Dilshan told reporters on Wednesday.
"Now we don't have that type of bowler, so we need to have five bowlers in our team."
Off-spinner Muralitharan claimed 800 test wickets in a 133-match career that began in 1992 and ended last July, helping take Sri Lanka from the bottom-ranked test team to one of the most competitive.
His attacking threat has been sorely missed with Sri Lanka having failed to win any of their five tests since he quit.
"We can't find another Murali in Sri Lanka, he was a special guy for international cricket," added Dilshan.
"But we have two young off-spinners in (Ajantha) Mendis and Suraj (Randiv), so if we can get the maximum out of them it might be good for our future."
The fact neither Mendis or Randiv have been included in Sri Lanka's 12-man squad for the first test against England at Cardiff starting on Thursday demonstrates the lack of faith that is currently invested in them. Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath is the only slow bowler in the squad.
Mendis, 26, made an immediate impact in international one-day cricket but none of his 15 tests have been played outside of Asia.
Sri Lanka have won two of their 10 test matches in England - at The Oval in 1998 and Trent Bridge in 2006 - and both wins were only possible due to the fizzing ball Muralitharan bowled.
He claimed 16 wickets at The Oval, including second innings analysis of nine for 65 from 54.2 overs, while his eight second innings wickets at Trent Bridge bowled Sri Lanka to a series-levelling win.
When England captain Andrew Strauss was asked to judge the challenge Sri Lanka faced without the world record holder he said: "that's not our problem" and talked up the current team.
When pushed, though, Strauss could not deny the obvious difference in quality between a Sri Lanka bowling attack containing Murali and one that does not.
"I only faced him in three test matches but it was one of the great challenges of my career," he said.
"We all know what he achieved in the game and those boots are big boots to fill. But a lot of the time they are filled if not by one person then by a number of different people chipping in.
"One thing about the Sri Lankans, they are always competitive and they are good, street-smart cricketers. They will be very hard to overcome."
"We have to play six batsmen and five bowlers (instead of four) now as Murali normally bowled 40 overs every day," Dilshan told reporters on Wednesday.
"Now we don't have that type of bowler, so we need to have five bowlers in our team."
Off-spinner Muralitharan claimed 800 test wickets in a 133-match career that began in 1992 and ended last July, helping take Sri Lanka from the bottom-ranked test team to one of the most competitive.
His attacking threat has been sorely missed with Sri Lanka having failed to win any of their five tests since he quit.
"We can't find another Murali in Sri Lanka, he was a special guy for international cricket," added Dilshan.
"But we have two young off-spinners in (Ajantha) Mendis and Suraj (Randiv), so if we can get the maximum out of them it might be good for our future."
The fact neither Mendis or Randiv have been included in Sri Lanka's 12-man squad for the first test against England at Cardiff starting on Thursday demonstrates the lack of faith that is currently invested in them. Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath is the only slow bowler in the squad.
Mendis, 26, made an immediate impact in international one-day cricket but none of his 15 tests have been played outside of Asia.
Sri Lanka have won two of their 10 test matches in England - at The Oval in 1998 and Trent Bridge in 2006 - and both wins were only possible due to the fizzing ball Muralitharan bowled.
He claimed 16 wickets at The Oval, including second innings analysis of nine for 65 from 54.2 overs, while his eight second innings wickets at Trent Bridge bowled Sri Lanka to a series-levelling win.
When England captain Andrew Strauss was asked to judge the challenge Sri Lanka faced without the world record holder he said: "that's not our problem" and talked up the current team.
When pushed, though, Strauss could not deny the obvious difference in quality between a Sri Lanka bowling attack containing Murali and one that does not.
"I only faced him in three test matches but it was one of the great challenges of my career," he said.
"We all know what he achieved in the game and those boots are big boots to fill. But a lot of the time they are filled if not by one person then by a number of different people chipping in.
"One thing about the Sri Lankans, they are always competitive and they are good, street-smart cricketers. They will be very hard to overcome."
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