Sri Lanka's captain Wanindu Hasaranga and spinner Maheesh Theekshana have openly expressed their discontent with the scheduling of their matches in the T20 World Cup. Following a disappointing 6-wicket loss to South Africa in their campaign opener, Sri Lanka found themselves rushing through their media obligations. Reports from ESPNcricinfo suggest that the team had to hastily return to their hotel in Brooklyn, pack their belongings, check out, and make their way to the airport for a 6 pm flight to Dallas, where they were slated to face Bangladesh in their next match on Friday (local time).
Before their encounter with South Africa, Sri Lanka also faced hurdles in their preparation as they were unable to train. Their plans were further disrupted when they were stranded at the Miami airport for seven hours, awaiting their delayed flight to New York.
Following the match, Theekshana reiterated his discontent with the scheduling, emphasising the challenges faced by the team due to their frequent travels. He expressed his frustration, stating, "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 unfair for us, but it doesn't matter when you play [on the field]."
Among the 20 participating teams, Sri Lanka and the Netherlands are the only two teams playing their first-round matches at four different venues. Theekshana revealed that the team had to forgo their training session due to travel fatigue and had to wake up at 5 am to reach the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium for their match against South Africa.
"Yeah, that's why. 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," Theekshana said.
When asked about what kind of schedule would have been fair for Sri Lanka, Theekshana responded: "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 is 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],".
During the post-match press conference, Hasaranga shared his perspective on whether logistical issues affected their performance against South Africa.
"We can't say that. We had a tough time the last few days. All four games are 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]. The next game is in Florida where we played two games, that's the only plus point we have," he said.