Sri Lanka's Maheesh Theekshana Criticizes Gruelling World Cup Schedule
Sri Lankan spinner Maheesh Theekshana expresses frustration over the challenging World Cup schedule, highlighting the team's struggles with frequent travel, varying venues, and logistical issues.
Sri Lankan spinner Maheesh Theekshana has spoken out against the demanding schedule that the Sri Lankan cricket team has been subjected to during the ongoing World Cup, labeling it as 'unfair'. Theekshana expressed his frustration over the team's rigorous travel itinerary, multiple venue changes, and logistical challenges.
Sri Lanka, along with the Netherlands, is one of the two teams playing their four group stage matches in four different venues. Moreover, the team's hotel in New York, where they played their opening match against South Africa, was located an hour and 40 minutes away from the venue. Theekshana lamented the long hours spent at airports, delayed flights, and the fatigue induced by constant travel.
The spinner highlighted the disparity in conditions faced by Sri Lanka compared to other teams, pointing out that some teams have the advantage of staying close to the match venues. He revealed that Sri Lanka had to cancel one of their training sessions due to travel fatigue and the considerable distance they had to cover to reach the practice facility.
Playing each game in different venues also hampers Sri Lanka's ability to quickly adapt to the conditions, as stated by Theekshana. With limited knowledge about the conditions at each venue, Sri Lanka finds themselves at a disadvantage compared to teams playing multiple matches in the same location.
Theekshana's frustrations were echoed by Sri Lanka captain Wanindu Hasaranga, who acknowledged the logistical challenges faced by the team but refrained from attributing them directly to their performance on the field.
Looking ahead, Sri Lanka faces a tight turnaround time before their next game against Bangladesh in Dallas on June 7. Subsequent matches will see them travel to Florida to face Nepal on June 11, followed by a match against Netherlands in St. Lucia on June 16.
The remarks from Theekshana and Hasaranga shed light on the hardships encountered by Sri Lanka amidst the gruelling World Cup schedule, raising questions about the fairness and logistics of tournament planning.
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