'So unfair for us' - Maheesh Theekshana rues the improper planning for Sri Lanka's games in the T20 World Cup 2024
Sri Lanka suffered a six-wicket defeat over South Africa in their opening T20 World Cup 2024 encounter. Nothing went their way from the start, for they bundled on a mere 77, and South Africa chased down the target with 22 balls to spare, even though Sri Lankan bowlers went down fighting on a tricky deck.
Following the game's conclusion, Maheesh Theekshana talked about the issues they faced due to having all four games at different venues. Calling it “unfair”, Theekshana revealed their flight delays, and how it compelled the team to cancel their practice session.
“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 to 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 8 PM, but we got the flight at 5 AM. It's really unfair for us, but it doesn't matter when you play [on the field]. 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.”
Also Read: T20 World Cup 2024: Are India over-reliant on Jasprit Bumrah?
Sri Lanka and Netherlands - the only two sides playing all four matches at different venues. Further, Sri Lanka stayed in downtown Brooklyn away from the ground, hampering their practice sessions and causing further troubles due to excessive travelling.
All four games in four venues are hard: Maheesh Theekshana
Talking about the logistic issues, Maheesh Theekshana opened up on the trouble of playing four matches at different venues. He feels his team doesn’t get to know the conditions due to the continuous changing of grounds.
“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.”
Theekshana also talked about the teams staying near the ground and getting to play more matches at a particular venue. While he knows nothing will change this year, Theekshana hopes that ICC will be prudent with its planning for the next editions.
“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 in Florida. There are 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].”
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