Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana Speak Out Against Unfair T20 WC Tournament Arrangements

June 4, 2024 0 903

Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana have criticized the unfair schedule and logistical challenges of the T20 World Cup, including frequent travel, delayed flights, and distant hotels.

Sri Lanka’s cricket team is facing significant logistical challenges at the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, which seems to overshadow their competitive spirit. The team is now dealing with the stress of playing at four different venues, enduring delayed flights, and staying in hotels far from the stadiums.

The team’s captain, Wanindu Hasaranga, and player Maheesh Theekshana have publicly expressed their dissatisfaction with the unfair scheduling and logistical arrangements. Theekshana shared an instance where they had to wait for eight hours at the airport in Miami, Florida.

“So unfair for us, we have to leave every day [after the match] because we are playing 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 as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

Unlike other teams, Sri Lanka’s hotel is located in downtown Brooklyn, making early morning matches particularly tough due to the long commute to the venue. This has even led to the cancellation of training sessions before matches.

“Because even from the hotel, it’s one hour and 40 minutes. Even today [match day], we had to wake up around 5 am to come here. I can’t say the names of the teams that have got the opportunity to stay in the same place but their hotel is only 14 minutes to the ground. Ours was like one hour and 40 minutes.,” he added.

Furthermore, Hasaranga mentioned that while other teams enjoy the convenience of staying closer to the ground, Sri Lanka’s travel time is significantly longer. The only advantage, he noted, was playing in Florida, where they had previously played two games.

“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.

Sri Lanka’s next match is against Bangladesh in Dallas on June 8, and the team is preparing to travel there for the fixture.