5 reasons why India shouldn't take Sri Lanka lightly

#1 Malinga still has some gas left in the tank

Malinga in action

It can be argued that Lasith Malinga is no longer the force he was say a couple of years ago. And that could be true as he has had lot of injuries in that period and he is not getting any younger. Most importantly, batsmen across the world have found ways to negate his threat and score heavily against him.

Sri Lanka are lacking a leader in their bowling attack for some time now, which explains in more ways than one their pathetic form off late across all formats. Looking at this team scheduled to face India in the ODI series, Malinga is by far the most experienced of the bowlers and irrespective of his form, he is the leader of the bowling attack.

Malinga did show glimpses of his true, destructive self in this year's Indian Premier League (IPL) which gives the impression that there is still fuel in his tank to trouble the opposition. His slinging action coupled with the fact that he can still bowl yorkers with good consistency in the depth overs makes him a threat even now.

Without the experience of Nuwan Kulasekara who has been axed for this series, Malinga’s importance increases two-fold and Sri Lanka would be hoping that he steps up and delivers.