 "Sri Lanka all-rounder Dasun Shanaka celebrates with teammates after dismissing South Africa captain Aiden Markram. AP")
Sri Lanka had a horrible start to the 2024 T20 World Cup on Monday. The six wicket loss against South Africa only compounded their nightmarish start to the competition having already been hit by logistical troubles and knowledge of a difficult schedule.
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After playing their match in New Jersey , Sri Lanka had to rush back to their hotel in Brooklyn, check out, and make it for their evening flight to Dallas. In Texas, Sri Lanka will have the challenge of needing a win against Bangladesh. This after the Lankans had been forced to wait seven hours in Miami for their delayed flight to New York.
Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana both officially said the schedule and the logistical arrangements were unfair on the team. Team manager Mahinda Halangoda confirmed they have written to the International Cricket Council (ICC) about it, but conceded it was too late for a solution.
Of the 20 teams in the T20 World Cup, Sri Lanka are one of two playing their group stage matches at four different venues - Netherlands are the other.
India and South Africa, who play three matches in New York, are booked near the venue. Sri Lanka, though, are an-hour-and-half away, which complicates schedules for early-morning starts.
As a result, Sri Lanka left their hotel before 7am without having had their breakfast. However, Hasaranga, Theekshana and Halagonda opted against using that as an excuse for their defeat to South Africa.
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More Shorts“So unfair for us, we have to leave every day [after the match] because we are playing [at] four different venues,” Theekshana said. “It’s unfair. The flight we took from Florida, from 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 8pm but we got the flight at 5am. It’s really unfair for us, but it doesn’t matter when you play [on the field].”
The hectic schedule promoted Sri Lanka to cancel their training session on Sunday. “Yeah, that’s why,” Theekshana said when asked if the fatigue of travel made them cancel training. “Because even from the hotel, it’s one hour and 40 minutes. Even today [match day], we had to wake up around 5am to come here.”
When asked to elaborate on the logistics and scheduling, Theekshana said, “I can’t say the names of the teams that have got the opportunity to stay in the same place but their hotel is only 14 minutes to the ground. Ours was like one hour and 40 minutes.
“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’s in Florida. There’s 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]. We woke up around 5.30 to come here, and [it plays on the mind, what] if we miss something here [while packing in a hurry].”
New Zealand concerned with jetlag
Sri Lanka are not alone. New Zealand, who have opted against playing warm-ups and resorted to practice sessions, have been hit by rain and jetlag on their arrival in the Caribbean.
With players joining in from all over the world, including Trent Boult and Lockie Ferguson who were involved in the IPL Playoffs, needing time to get accustomed to change in timezone is a big hiccup.
“You don’t always get ideal [situations] when people are coming from all over the world,” said head coach Gary Stead. “And one of the things we have found here is jetlag probably hits you a little bit hard. I know a number of people have been up in the middle of the night, which isn’t great for your preparation, but thankfully we have enough time leading in being the 14th game of the tournament that guys can sort that out.”
New Zealand have the challenge of starting with two huge matches against Afghanistan and West Indies in a tough Group C .
“Looks like the weather bomb that was hitting here has passed us by,” Stead said. “It’s definitely somewhat of a concern that in such a quick period of time of pool play that you want to play every match you can.”