Ever since the inception of T20 cricket, the bowlers are having a difficult time in international cricket as the batters are taking more risks. Moreover, the big bats, boundary sizes and field restrictions rules in white-ball cricket are not helping the cause of bowlers either.

But according to Sri Lankan great Mahela Jayawardena, the current crop of pacers and spinners are up against better batting units.

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"We are yet to see if the current crop of bowlers will hit the numbers that their predecessors did... The present bowlers are probably up against better batting units," he said during an ESPNcricinfo videocast with Sanjay Manjrekar.

Jayawardena played as many as 652 international matches across formats during a career spanning close to two decades. At the peak of his career, international cricket was full of world-class bowlers, something many feel is not the case now.

Speaking about the bowling attacks he faced across two decades, the legendary batsman said, "If you look at the top 10 wicket-takers in modern-day cricket all of them played in that era (first half of his career).

"I missed out on Walsh and Kapil as I started just after that. There was (Muttiah) Murali ( Muralitharan), (Shane) Warne, (Glenn) McGrath, Anil (Kumble), Bhajji (Harbhajan Singh), Saqlain (Mushtaq), Wasim (Akram), Waqar (Younis), their numbers speak for themselves.

"The bowlers I faced in my career improved tremendously over the years."

Jayawardena recalled that he started out in cricket as a fast bowler/batsman and was allowed by his parents to skip exams to play in Hong Kong Sixes.

"I was really proud of my parents as that became my stepping stone because I performed well in that tournament.

"In school cricket, I was a fast bowler and batted at number three, but unfortunately, like all youngsters that time we were not put through proper training and fitness programme...

"... so later on when I improved and started playing first-class cricket, I had to give up fast bowling because I had some issues with my back. The advice was that I need to concentrate on my batting and not so much on my bowling, so I became a slow off-cutter."

Speaking further on his move to quit fast bowling, Mahela said, "I took the decision to give up bowling to have an effective career. I was fortunate to not miss a series because of a serious injury. No modern player plays without some type of niggle or other."