CHENNAI: Cricket is big in the sub-continent. It is so big that's it's turned into more than just a national past-time or passion. It has transcended into a religion. Fans follow each and every journey of their teams so passionately that one off day in office can be considered a disaster.
Sri Lanka became the first team of the sub-continent to crash out and they are feeling the heat. Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka's words were laced with emotion and remorse when he said the team was sorry for their performance but at the same time appealed to the government to show some restrain in their criticism of the team.
In an public appeal, Shanaka apologised to his country and said that it is very hard to swallow such a loss like theirs against both England and New Zealand. "As players, it's very hard for us to control the outside noise. So, most of the time, we mainly hear negative stuff, so no matter how positive we are as players, there is a negative environment created from the outside," he was quoted in the media on Wednesday.
"So that's a disadvantage for cricket in Sri Lanka, we only have this game and I don't think this could be saved. So, why the negativity is being spread like this? Okay we lost a World Cup; we know the reasons. We all have concerns. So, I think, we'll play and go, but at least for the players coming up next, if the government could interfere and stop those, I believe that will be a great help for the better mental health."
He also said that "We feel very sorry about this. England match was also a match that we could have won...if we were more sensible, we could have won that. This match was a one-sided game. For the spectators, I don't have anything to tell, we have not given them any win that they can be happy about."
"Unfortunately, we don't always get the conditions we want, sometimes we lose games from the things that we don't even think of, from the small changes. So, we are so sorry about that, as players we feel very sad about it."
"As a captain, I have no idea how long I will be the captain, it's decided by the selectors, by Sri Lanka Cricket. But I'm happy that I had this opportunity for this long time. I had many good decisions, and also, I have made mistakes as well. Actually, I'm happy that I could play a World Cup as a captain," he said.