LONDON - Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne has revealed stirring speeches from two of his country’s greats provided the perfect preparation for their bid to win the World Cup. Karunaratne’s side start their campaign against New Zealand in Cardiff on Saturday, with motivational pep talks from Arjuna Ranatunga and Kumar Sangakkara ringing in their ears.
The Sri Lankans won the World Cup in 1996 but enter this edition in England and Wales on a terrible run of form, winning just one of their past nine one-day internationals. Ranatunga, who captained Sri Lanka to their famous World Cup victory, and Sangakkara, one of his country’s greatest batsmen, both spoke to Karunaratne’s squad ahead of the tournament in a bid to lift the mood.