Since landing in India earlier this week, both Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara and manager Brendon Kuruppu have spoken extensively on how this team’s real strength lies in the flexibility of the bowling attack, with the focus largely on players such as Angelo Mathews and Nuwan Kulasekara who are equally handy with bat and ball.

Oddly enough, not much has been said about the pure quality of their tweakers in the build-up to this three-Test series.

Leading the pack is Muttiah Muralitharan, at 37, the most successful spinner in the history of the game. Then there’s Ajantha Mendis, who almost single-handedly got through India’s defences with the cutely named carrom ball when Anil Kumble’s side visited the island last year.

As if that’s not enough, Sangakkara can call upon Rangana Herath, incidentally their most successful spinner over the last few months. The skipper can’t stop smiling when asked about the trio. “Murali is the best ever by far, and it’s great to have the likes of Mendis and Rangana in support. In fact, if conditions allow, there’s a very real and exciting prospect of playing all three together,” Sangakkara said at an open media session here in Ahmedabad on Saturday.

While it’s unlikely that he’ll unleash all three together in the first Test itself, there’s little doubt that he has a happy headache as far as finding the right playing XI goes.

Murali picks himself, of course — you don’t mention the word form while talking about someone who has picked 783 Test wickets, after all.

... contd.