T20 World Cup 2024: Theekshana blasts ICC for Sri Lanka's unfair scheduling

Sri Lankan spinner Maheesh Theekshana voiced his frustration over the team's demanding schedule and logistical challenges at the 2024 T20 World Cup. 

Following their opening loss to South Africa, Theekshana highlighted the difficulties they've faced compared to other teams.

Unlike most teams playing their first matches in familiar locations, Sri Lanka, along with the Netherlands, are the only ones scheduled to travel across four different venues - New York, Dallas, Florida, and St Lucia. This constant movement disrupts training routines and acclimatization.

Theekshana specifically criticized the long travel times. He described an eight-hour delay for their flight from Florida to New York, causing them to arrive much later than planned.  Furthermore, their New York hotel was a significant distance from the stadium, requiring a tiring one-and-a-half-hour commute each way.

“It’s so unfair for us, we have to leave every day because we are playing [at] four different venues. 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," 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,” he further added.

It is worth noting that Sri Lanka is set to play against Bangladesh in Dallas on June 7, before they depart to Florida again for their match against Nepal on June 11. Their final first round fixture is against the Netherlands in St Lucia on June 16.