Sangakkara wants to enjoy IPL

Still disappointed over Sri Lanka’s World Cup final loss to India, Deccan Chargers skipper Kumar Sangakkara now wants to enjoy the Indian Premier League (IPL), where his side faced Kolkata Knight Riders on Monday.

Sangakkara admits the international players are fatigued after the gruelling World Cup matches, but says the timing of the IPL was known when they agreed to play the tourney a month ago.

“It’s a bit tiring but also a lot of fun. Our job is to play cricket, we enjoy playing cricket. We agreed to play this tournament well in advance. We just got to enjoy and play as good as we can,” said Sangakkara.

He described the Knight Riders as a “tough opposition”, and admitted that his side needed to tighten up their fielding. “They are a very good team, a very tough opposition. But in T20, even a slight mistake can change the complexion of the game. We have to be on the look out for those things,” he said.

The wicketkeeper-batsman said his team, which went down to Rajasthan Royals by eight wickets in their opener, had a good batting lineup. “It’s true we did not bat well in the match against the Royals. Our batting is very good. One cannot judge your batting by just one game. We have some quality players.

“It does not matter how many runs you have scored.”

Sangakkara said the World Cup final defeat was a bit disappointing.

“We have been in the finals three times in the last four occasions, including in the World Twenty20. However, we could not win any of them,” he said.

Asked whether he planned to utilise his spinners in the opening overs of the IPL games, Sangakkara replied: “Definitely. I think depending on the wicket, spin in the first few overs may just be a great option and can be an attacking one... But you have to play it according to the situation. “You just cannot just plan everything and use spin in the first few overs for the sake of it,” he added. CSK have in their ranks some good spinners including Pragyan Ojha, Amit Mishra and Jean-Paul Duminy.

On his team’s defeat in the previous match, Sangakkara said losing too many wickets after a great start cost them the match.