Maheesh Theekshana slams ICC over Sri Lanka’s busy schedule for 2024 T20 World Cup

Mahesh Theekshanaoutstanding spinner of Sri Lankaexpressed concern about the strict schedule imposed on his team during the match ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024hosted in all locations e The West Indies as well as USA. Theekshana’s comments following Sri Lanka’s defeat in South Africa by six wickets in their opening match of the world tournament, where the team faced a time crunch to fulfill their obligations after the match.
Challenging organization has an impact on team preparation
According to the report of ESPNCricinfo, after losing to South Africa, the Sri Lankan team faced a tight schedule, which required them to rush from the stadium to a hotel in Brooklyn. With limited time available, the players had to quickly pack their belongings, check in, and make their way to the airport for a 6 pm flight to Dallas, where they were scheduled to face Bangladesh in their next match.
The team’s preparations for their opening game were hampered by delays, as their arrival in New York was significantly delayed due to a long seven-hour wait at the Miami airport. Theekshana emphasized the negative impact of traveling long distances between places, saying that this is a major obstacle for the team.
Maheesh Theekshana expresses frustration with travel demands
Expressing his dissatisfaction, Theekshana highlighted the unfairness of the situation, especially for a team that has to travel many places to get games. He recounted the group’s experience at the Miami airport, where they endured an eight-hour wait before departing at 5 a.m. instead of the scheduled 8 p.m. departure.
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Theekshana emphasized the challenges Sri Lanka is facing due to the heavy schedule, which has led to fatigue and disrupting training programs. Organizational demands have forced practice sessions to be cancelled, as players have to deal with early wake-up calls to get to their match venues.
“So it’s not fair for us, we have to go every day [after the match] because we are playing [at] four different places. It’s wrong. The flight we took from Florida, from Miami, we had to wait eight hours at the airport to get a flight. And we arrived. We were supposed to leave at 8pm but we got the flight at 5am. It’s not fair to us, but it doesn’t matter when you play [on the field],” Theekshana said.
Differences in planning are fair
Another factor fueling Sri Lanka’s grievances is the disparity in justice planning, as highlighted by Theekshana. Teams stationed in one place benefit from knowing the conditions and having the opportunity to engage in practice sessions, an advantage that can be enjoyed by Sri Lanka, which has to adapt to different conditions in many places.
“Yes, that’s why. Because even from the hotel, it is one hour and 40 minutes. Even today [match day]we had to wake up around 5 am to come here,” Theekshana added.
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