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Pothas 'sick and tired' of transition talk

Cape Town - Ahead of the Test series against Pakistan, Sri Lanka interim coach Nic Pothas has said that he and his team are "sick and tired" of talking about them being in transition.

Sri Lanka will be hoping to turn their fortunes around when they start a two-match Test series against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.

Pothas, who is standing in as Sri Lanka coach since Graham Ford quit the job in June, oversaw an ODI series loss against Zimbabwe at home and then lost every single game against India also on home soil, which included three Tests, five ODIs and a T20I.

Part of the problems that face Sri Lanka cricket is that they have not yet replaced the runs and experience of legends such as Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene.

However, the last of those retirements came more than two years ago and Pothas has urged the players to move on with their performances on the field.

Pothas said: "We are probably in an era where we are sick and tired of talking about transition. Sick and tired of about talking about it as a 'learning period'.

"It is time to go out and perform, and that is the challenge. You are going to meet a world-class team. We have to move forward."

Pothas will hoping for a resurgence from his team against Pakistan with the second Test of the series to be played in Dubai from October 6 while the teams will also contest five ODIs and three T20Is.

Squads (from):

Pakistan

Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Azhar Ali, Shan Masood, Sami Aslam, Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq, Haris Sohail, Usman Salahuddin, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Asghar, Bilal Asif, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Abbas, Wahab Riaz

Sri Lanka

Dinesh Chandimal (captain), Lahiru Thirimanne (vice-capt), Dimuth Karunaratne, Kaushal Silva, Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Roshen Silva, Niroshan Dickwella, Rangana Herath, Lakshan Sandakan, Dilruwan Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Gamage

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