Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar and his Sri Lankan counterpart Maravan Atapattu in Colombo on Saturday. (AP)

Colombo: Sri Lanka’s cricket coach Tom Moody has urged his players to take the upcoming series against Bangladesh seriously.

“We have got a lot of cricket in the next six-12 months and we want to maintain some positive momentum. This series is as important as any other series we have got in the future,” Moody was quoted as saying in a Lanka daily.

“It is important we play our strongest side because we have a lot of respect for Bangladesh. They are an emerging side and improving all the time,” said Moody.

Bangladesh begin their tour with a limited-overs practice match against a side led by national cricketer Avishka Gunawardene Sunday.

The first ODI will be played on august 31 at sinhalese sports club, while the next two matches will be played at premadasa stadium on september 2 and 4 respectively.

Premadasa will also host the first Test match starting September 12, while the second match will be played at Saravanamuttu Stadium from September 20. (AP)