Sri Lanka spinner Maheesh Theekshana criticized the challenging World Cup schedule imposed on his team, branding it as ‘unfair’.
Sri Lanka, alongside the Netherlands, are the only two teams playing their four group stage matches at four different venues.
Adding to the ordeal, Sri Lanka’s hotel in New York, where they kicked off their campaign against South Africa on June 3, was located an hour and 40 minutes away from the venue.
The Sri Lankan side has also faced flight delays and prolonged waits at airports.
“It’s so unfair for us; we have to relocate every day because we’re playing at four different venues,” Theekshana expressed after his team’s loss to South Africa.
“The flight from Florida, Miami, we had to wait for about eight hours at the airport.
We were supposed to depart at 8 pm but ended up catching the flight at 5 am.
It’s really unjust for us, but it doesn’t matter once you’re on the field.”
“I can’t disclose the teams that are fortunate to stay in the same place where their hotel is only 14 minutes away from the ground.
Ours took one hour and 40 minutes,” he added, revealing that Sri Lanka had to cancel a training session due to travel fatigue and the extensive distance to the practice venue.
“Even from the hotel, it’s one hour and 40 minutes.
Today, on match day, we had to wake up around 5 am to get here,” Theekshana continued.
He also emphasized that playing each game at different venues deprives Sri Lanka of the opportunity to quickly adapt to the conditions.
Their match against South Africa marked the first World Cup game in New York, where they opted to bat first but collapsed for 77 in a six-wicket defeat.
“Four games in four venues.
It’s challenging.
We had no idea about the conditions here.
This was our debut game in New York.
Next, we head to Dallas, and we’re clueless about the conditions there.
The only advantage is our familiarity with Florida, where we played two games,” Theekshana explained.
Their opponents on June 3, South Africa, will play two more matches in New York, while India, commencing their campaign against Ireland on June 5, will also have three fixtures at the same venue before moving to Florida for their final group stage game.
“I can’t disclose the teams playing in the same venue; they understand the conditions.
They’re having practice games at the same venue.
We don’t have that luxury.
We played practice games in Florida, and our third game is there,” Theekshana lamented.
Additionally, Theekshana revealed the challenges faced by the Sri Lankan team on travel days, having to rush and pack up immediately after playing a match.
“There are certain aspects that need reconsideration for the upcoming years because, this year, nothing will change.
Our management is trying to adjust today’s flight as well because we play; we have to pack everything and leave.
We woke up around 5:30 to get here, and it’s unsettling to worry about missing something while rushing to pack,” he shared.
Sri Lanka captain Wanindu Hasaranga refrained from entirely attributing these logistical hurdles to his team’s poor performance against South Africa but echoed Theekshana’s sentiments about the tough conditions at the World Cup.
“We can’t directly say it affected our performance, but we faced challenging times, especially in the last few days.
We still travel one and a half hours on game day mornings, and we have four games in four venues for the first round,” Hasaranga remarked.
Sri Lanka has a three-day gap before their next game against Bangladesh on June 7 in Dallas.
Subsequently, they travel to Florida for their match against Nepal on June 11 before concluding their group stage campaign against the Netherlands in St. Lucia on June 16.
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