Sri Lanka started their T20 World Cup 2024 campaign on a dismal note on Monday when they were defeated at the hands of South Africa by 6 wickets. However, the team had no time to ponder upon their performance as they had to quickly complete the media commitments and head back to the hotel before their flight to Dallas.
Theekshana, Hasaranga refuse to mince words
Sri Lankan captain Wanindu Hasaranga and veteran Maheesh Theekshana minced no words to point out that the schedule and the logistical arrangements were unfair on the team.
“So unfair for us, we have to leave every day [after the match] because we are playing [at] four different venues. It’s unfair. The flight we took from Florida, from Miami, we had to wait like eight hours in the airport to get the flight. And we came around. We were supposed to leave at 8pm but we got the flight at 5am. It’s really unfair for us, but it doesn’t matter when you play [on the field],” Theekshana said.
Sri Lankan skipper Hasaranga was asked if the logistical nightmare had any bearing in their performance.
“We can’t say that. We had a tough time last few days. All four games in four venues. It’s hard. We didn’t know [anything about the conditions here]. This is our first game in New York. Next game in Dallas, we don’t know [anything about the conditions there]. Next game is in Florida where we played two games, that’s the only plus point we have,” Hasaranga said.
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Sri Lanka dealt unfair hand?
Two of the twenty participating teams—Sri Lanka and the Netherlands—will play their first-round matches at four different locations. When in New York, Sri Lanka’s hotel was in downtown Brooklyn, which complicates schedules for early morning starts, a feature of this tournament to cater to TV audiences in India in particular and south Asia in general. This is in contrast to South Africa and India, who play three matches at the same venue and are staying in nearby facilities.
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