Inexperienced Sri Lanka clean swept the top-ranked T20I Pakistan team 3-0. However, the President of Sri Lankan board said that despite tight security, staying in the hotel for a longer time and waiting for the roads to be closed was tough on them.
“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,” – Sri Lanka Cricket President Shammi Silva said.
Sri Lanka will be playing Test series against Pakistan in December. Commenting about the Test series in Pakistan, Silva said that the board would be talking to the players, as they will be holed up in the hotel rooms for five days at a stretch.
“Pakistan is very happy and grateful to Sri Lanka for sending the team. But we have to assess and see whether it is viable to play Test matches there because they are of five days duration and the players have to be inside the hotel,” – he said.
“The roads are closed, the process takes about half an hour to close the roads, and they won’t allow you to move. It’s not easy, mentally it’s tough. We owed something to Pakistan because they’ve always helped us. We were able to bear it up for the sake of Pakistan but how much can you bear?” – he added.
“There was good bonding without the wives. Too much freedom is also bad for the players,” – he said. However, Silva was worried about the players staying indoors for so long.
“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 added.
Sri Lanka was beaten 2-0 in the 50-over series but made a remarkable comeback with 3-0 victory in the T20 series over Pakistan. It was all due to some brilliant performances by the youngsters of the visiting team.
