Muttiah Muralitharan has opined that despite having a stronger side than Sri Lanka, the visiting Indian team can be vulnerable because of the lack of match practice. According to the former legendary spinner, the Sri Lankan side hasn't played well in recent times but yet they can turn up and perform well, because of adequate match practice which they have had.

The Indian contingent mainly contains players who have done well in limited over cricket in recent times at the India A and domestic level, with the exception of some first-choice white-ball players. Despite having a strong line-up on paper, none of the players have played an official match since the IPL 2021 got postponed in early May. On the other hand, the Sri Lankan team was recently returned from England where they played three T20Is and three ODIs.

'The only disadvantage I would say is they (India) have not played a game for a long time. Sri Lanka, somehow they have played some games, they didn't perform well but still. When you play a game, nerves and everything comes,' MuttiahMuralitharan said to ESPNCricinfo. The former spinner further noted that the first match will be a bit tricky for the Indian team.

Nobody should even think about this Indian team as a second strength team: Muralitharan

' The first match will be a tricky match for India because they have to get their A game to play and if they miss, then they will doubt themselves a little bit. India are favorites but there is a sniff for Sri Lanka because they have been playing cricket recently,' Muralitharan said. The first ODI will be played at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday, July 18.Muralitharan also talked about the strength and depth of the Indian team. He rightly noted that the players have the experience of playing in the IPL with the best of the best which has helped them improve their game. He also compared the Indian team to that of England, which Muralitharan believes exhibits the same sort of bench strength. 'Nobody should even think about this (Indian team) as a second strength (team) because these players have been performing,' Muralitharan concluded.