"He is such a bowler that you can always depend on a person like that.

He is so extraordinary that depending on him too much, I don't think is any harm," Atapattu told reporters here during yesterday's Media launch of the three-match One-Day and two-game Test series against the West Indies.

Atapatta said the Sri Lankans are looking to maintain their recent winning run against the West Indies but the main focus is building a team for the future in the absence of star batsman Aravinda de Silva, who has retired from international cricket.

"We are in a rebuilding stage now and we just want to start a good couple of months by having one or two good series," said Atapattu.

"He (de Silva) is a great player. To lose a player of that calibre is a great loss but people have to go out of the game at some point so it was one of those instances. But I'm sure there will be more Aravindas coming up," Atapattu noted.

He singled out middle order batsmen Naveed Nawaz and Tillekeratne Dilshan, as well as pacer Prabath Nissanka as players to watch during the month-long tour of the Caribbean.

"We have carried two batsmen, Dilshan and Naveed. Dilshan is a very talented player and he had been around with the side for two, three years, on and off.

He is a good player and Prabath Nissanka is a fast bowler who has done extremely well in the recently concluded Tri-nation (series) in Colombo.

Those are the players who you will be keeping an eye on," Atapattu said.

He conceded his start as One-Day captain, failing to reach the Tri-series final at home, has followed a similar script to his batting career.

"I haven't had the best of starts. I haven't had the best of starts in my career as a player so I think that's the way it comes to me and hopefully, it will be better," Atapattu said.

Atapattu, who watched some of the action on television in the recent series between West Indies and Australia, acknowledged the Caribbean cricketers have shown signs of improvement after they were swept aside when they toured Sri Lanka in 2001 in both the Tests and One-Day series.

"To be very frank, I saw a difference in their approach as the tour went along. They are more competitive," Atapattu said.

However, even though admitting Sri Lanka have not be very consistent in recent times, Atapattu says he is not too worried about the three-match winning streak the West Indies had against the Aussies.