Brathwaite confident of a good start against Sri Lanka

West Indies went into the Test series against Bangladesh with little hope. They were without the services of Darren Bravo and Jason Holder, and against Bangladesh, on their home turf, not a lot of people would have backed them to pull off what they did. However, players like Kyle Mayers, Nkrumah Bonner and Joshua Da Silva stepped up to the occasion as West Indies trounced Bangladesh 2-0. West Indies will be up against Sri Lanka in a 2 match Test series and even though the visitors hasn’t fared well in Tests of late, they can be an intimidating opposition with some big names in their team. Brathwaite, however, looked confident of his team performing well against Sri Lanka.

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"We have the same attitude , the same determination and the same fight, and we want to keep that discipline. As a Test team, we are on a great path with guys going and grabbing opportunities to score runs, and on a great path to play teams in the Test arena," Brathwaite told pressers, ahead of the series opener, reported ESPNCricinfo.

The hosts will be bolstered by the return of Darren Bravo and Jason Holder. Heaping praises on the duo, Brathwaite confirmed their selection in the playing XI. The new skipper said that Holder is the number 1 all rounder while Bravo is a quality batsman so it’s obvious that the duo will be part of the XI.

"The two of them are quality international cricketers and we know what they can give . Jason is the No. 1 allrounder in the world and Darren Bravo is a quality batsman. So they will fit in - quite normal to be honest," he added.

Brathwaite further added that he wants the players to have trust in their abilities. He reckoned that Sri Lanka series won’t be too different from Bangladesh as the visitors too boast of a quality spin attack. 

"So pretty much the plans won't change; I just want the guys to trust themselves. We came out with different plans how we want to go about each bowler - whether a pacer or a spinner - and the main thing is that we are not taking it for granted. We're not thinking that we won't get spin here. They have some quality spinners, but we have plans to go about each bowler and we're going to trust them 100% - as simple as that."