Two Sri Lanka stars slammed what they described as “unfair” their team’s Twenty20 (T20) World Cup schedule.
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SRI LANKA STARS HASARANGA, THEEKSHANA SLAM ‘UNFAIR’ SCHEDULE
Captain Wanindu Hasaranga and spinner Maheesh Theekshana slammed Sri Lanka’s “unfair” T20 World Cup schedule this early into the tournament.
After yielding a 6-wicket loss in their opening match against South Africa, the Sri Lankan team scrambled just to catch their flight for their Friday game.
Furthermore, Hasaranga cited the pressure in rushing back to their Brooklyn hotel, checking out, and traveling to the airport for Dallas.
The Sri Lanka squad needs to catch their 6 pm flight to Dallas for their next match against Bangladesh on Friday.
Theekshana expressed his disappointment with the tournament’s scheduling.
“So unfair for us, we have to leave every day (after the match) because we are playing (at) four different venues,” the spinner told ESPNcricinfo.
HASARANGA CITES 4 SRI LANKA MATCHES PLAYED IN FOUR DIFFERENT VENUES
Sri Lanka’s schedule consisted of playing four matches at four different venues, which Hasaranga described as “a tough time.”
“We had a tough time the last few days. All four games in four venues. It’s hard,” the Sri Lanka skipper said.
“We didn’t know (anything about the conditions here). This is our first game in New York. next game in Dallas,” he added.
Additionally, Sri Lanka is also scheduled to play two games in Florida.
“That (Florida games) is the only plus point we have,” Hasaranga said.
TEAMS MAY RETHINK OF T20 WORLD CUP SCHEDULE NEXT YEAR, SAYS THEEKSHANA
Furthermore, Sri Lanka’s experience may have teams rethink their T20 World Cup schedule next year moving forward, says Theekshana.
The India spinner was asked if some teams were playing at the same venue, but he couldn’t identify them.
“We played the practice games in Florida and our third game is in Florida,” Theekshana said.
“There are some things that I think that everyone will rethink about next year because I know that this year, nothing will change,” he added.
Theekshana, meanwhile, was assured the Sri Lanka management “is trying to fix” the team’s flight to prepare them for their next match.
