While Sri Lanka’s cricketers came through a magnificent series in Pakistan, the team’s big boss Shammi Silva was disgusted to the point that a subsequent Test tour of the same country in December has been put in doubt only hours after the players expressed a willingness to play again without reservations.
Silva made the revelation when the triumphant Sri Lankans returned with their trophy to meet the Press at a simple ceremony.
“The players had to stay inside the hotel. I got fed up staying for three or four days. We have to talk to the players and support staff and see how this will affect the Test series”, Silva told reporters, some of them confused by his expressions.
“There was good bonding without the wives. Too much freedom is also bad for the players. They have to go shopping and go out and eat somewhere.
“They have biological needs. So they have to go out and see the world. They cannot stay in their rooms. So we have to talk to them,” Silva further said.
His remarks were somewhat of a contrast to that of his veteran secretary Mohan de Silva who also toured Pakistan with the 17 players and had only praise for the team and their extremely hospitable hosts in Pakistan.
“They are heroic young Lions who recorded a historic whitewash against the Number One team (Pakistan)”, De Silva said.
“They spontaneously agreed to tour and demonstrate their skills and talents and I would like to thank the Pakistan Cricket Board and their government for ensuring the highest level of security. They delivered a lot more than was promised to us.”
Team manager Ashantha de Mel however tried to clarify Shammi Silva’s expressions saying a “senior team” will always want to break out from the confines of their hotel.
“What the president (Shammi Silva) is saying is that the younger players were focussed to perform and take up the pressure. When you take the main team and go, they are already established. They are used to their normal things.
“The youngsters wanted to go anywhere and perform to get into the (permanent) side. A Test match takes in 10 days unlike the one-day series. We (myself and Shammi) owed it to Pakistan. They helped us a lot,” said De Mel.
Should Sri Lanka want a change for the subsequent Test series, Pakistan could be compelled to revert back to their adopted home-match venue in the United Arab Emirates which is touted as a sizzling shopping and entertainment capital especially suited for some Sri Lanka Cricket officials with a penchant for globe-trotting.