Skipper Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana unhappy with ‘unfair’ Sri Lanka T20 World Cup schedule

Sri Lanka captain Wanindu Hasaranga and spinner Maheesh Theekshana have expressed their displeasure over their T20 World Cup lineup.

After suffering a 6-wicket defeat in their first match of the campaign against South Africa in a low-scoring affair, Sri Lanka had to quickly end their media engagements.

According to ESPNcricinfo, Sri Lanka had to rush back to their hotel in Brooklyn, pack their bags, check out and then head to the airport for their 18-hour flight to Dallas for their next match against Bangladesh on Friday (local time) .

Even before their match against South Africa, Sri Lanka had not been able to practice. They were held at Miami airport for seven hours to board their delayed flight to New York.

After the match, Theekshana expressed his displeasure with their schedule and said, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo: “It’s so unfair for us, we have to leave every day (after the match) because we are playing (in) four venues different. It’s unfair.

The flight we took from Florida, from Miami, we had to wait about eight hours at the airport to get the flight. And we came. We were supposed to leave at 8 p.m. but caught the flight at 5 a.m. It’s really unfair for us, but it doesn’t matter when you’re playing (on the field).”

Sri Lanka cancels pre-match training session

Of the 20 teams, Sri Lanka is one of two teams who will play their first round matches at four different venues. The Netherlands are the second team among the participating teams to play at four different venues.

Theekshana revealed that they had to cancel their training session due to travel fatigue and had to wake up at 5 am to reach the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium for their match against the ‘South Africa.

“Yeah, that’s why. Because even from the hotel it’s an hour and 40 minutes. Even today (match day) we had to wake up around 5 a.m. to get here.” , explained Theekshana.

Theekshana was also asked about what kind of schedule would have been fair to Sri Lanka.

“I can’t give the names of the teams who play in the same venue, so they know what the conditions are. They play practice matches in the same venue. Nobody will understand that. We played the practice matches in Florida and our third game will be in Florida.

There are some things that I think everyone will think about next year because I know that this year nothing will change. Our management is also trying to arrange today’s flight because we are playing, we have to pack everything and (leave),” he said.

“We have had difficult times in recent days”: Wanindu Hasaranga

In the post-match press conference, Hasaranga explained whether logistical issues impacted their performance against South Africa.

“We can’t say that. We’ve had a tough time the last few days. The four games in four venues. It’s tough. We didn’t know anything (about the conditions here). This is our first game in New York. The next game in Dallas, we don’t know anything (nothing about the conditions there). The next game will be in Florida where we played two games, that’s the only positive thing we have,” he said. he declares.

After making 77 against the Proteas, Sri Lanka will hope to win their next match against Bangladesh to stay in contention for the Super Six stage.

Published on: Tuesday, June 4, 2024, 12:31 PM IST