Sri Lanka’s players were in a hurry to complete the media commitments after their first match of this T20 World Cup. That’s because immediately after the match, they had to rush to their hotel in Brooklyn, an hour-and-a-half away, pack, check out, and then make their 6pm flight to Dallas where they will be playing what is now a must-win match against Bangladesh. This after they had to wait for seven hours at the Miami airport to take their delayed flight to New York to play this match.
Wanindu Hasaranga, their captain, and Maheesh Theekshana, both put it on record that the schedule and the logistical arrangements were unfair on the team. Team manager Mahinda Halagonda confirmed that they had written to the ICC about it, but conceded that it was too late to do anything about it.
Out of the 20 participating teams, Sri Lanka are one of two playing their first-round matches at four different venues – Netherlands are the other. When in New York – unlike India and South Africa, who play three matches at the same venue and are lodging in nearby facilities – 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.
As a result, Sri Lanka started their day early and left their hotel before 7am without having had their breakfast. However, all three Sri Lanka representatives who spoke – Hasaranga, Theekshana and Halagonda – emphasised that they were not blaming it for their defeat to South Africa.
“So unfair for us, we have to leave every day [after the match] because we are playing [at] four different venues,” Theekshana said. “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].”
The hectic schedule is why Sri Lanka cancelled their training on the eve of the match, which was anyway scheduled – for both teams – at a different facility. “Yeah, that’s why,” Theekshana said when asked if the fatigue of travel made them cancel training. “Because even from the hotel, it’s one hour and 40 minutes. Even today [match day], we had to wake up around 5am to come here.”
All this might sound like entitlement to some when most of the public goes through much more daily to get to their workplace, but in a competitive environment you always end up comparing yourselves with others. Every small advantage matters.
When asked what kind of logistics and scheduling would have been fairer on Sri Lanka, Theekshana said, “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.
“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”
Maheesh Theekshana
“I can’t say the [names of the] teams that are playing in the same venue, so they know what the conditions are like. They’re playing practice games at the same venue. No one will get that. We played the practice games in Florida, and our third game’s in Florida. There’s some things that I think that everyone will rethink about next year because I know that this year, nothing will change. Our management is trying to fix today’s flight also because we are playing, we have to pack everything and [leave]. We woke up around 5.30 to come here, and [it plays on the mind, what] if we miss something here [while packing in a hurry].”
Hasaranga was asked if the logistical troubles had a bearing on their performance.
“We can’t say that,” he said. “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.”
As they rush to make their flight to Dallas, it will be small consolation for Sri Lanka that they will save a day and will have ample time to train for the Bangladesh game. In New York, they got in on the delayed flight and had only one day before the match. They chose to rest. South Africa, who had been around for a while, chose to train at the practice facility and then came to the venue – which might have helped them in the game.
