Sajith takes up step-motherly treatment meted out to SL team by ICC in the US

By Saman Indrajith

SJB and Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa yesterday called on the government to reveal whether it had taken any action in respect of step-motherly treatment meted out to the Sri Lankan national team by the International Cricket Council (ICC) at the World Cup T20 Series in the US.

Expressing concerns about the treatment of the Sri Lankan cricket team during their tour of the US for the World Cup T20 series, Premadasa said the team was complaining of logistical and scheduling problems and some of those issues ran contrary to the ICC regulations.

The Opposition Leader said according to ICC regulations, the team must be located in a hotel within a maximum of 45 minutes distance from the stadium where the match is to be played and that the Sri Lankan team had been located in a hotel which was about one and a half hours away.

“Our players had to wait at Miami Airport for eight hours and therefore they missed their practice time.”

“Why is this step-motherly treatment only for our team? We cannot expect victory unless they are provided with the necessary facilities. This will affect their performance,” he said.

Premadasa urged the Sports Minister to address the issue promptly.

Leader of the House Education Minister Susil Premajayantha assured that the matter would be forwarded to the Ministry of Sports for resolution and promised to inform the House of updates.