I know the whole country was hurt but the players were affected much more than that- Graham Ford

A media conference held at Sri Lanka Cricket saw similar messages and sentiment expressed by the head table consisting of skipper Angelo Mathews, President Thilanga Sumathipala, Coach Graham Ford, Manager Asanka Gurusinghe and senior player Lasith Malinga.

The Sri Lanka national cricket team arrived in the country after being hauled-out of the Champions Trophy 2017 worked off in England where they experienced mixed fortunes and diverse outcomes in the competition.  A fortnight ago, they bequeathed their homeland something to cheer about with a win against top-dog India which was laid by the skipper at the feet of a flood-ravaged nation.

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Team Sri Lanka unearthed talent in their ranks with the likes of Nuwan Pradeep who bowled a good 140+ and took the prized scalp of Virat Kholi to bring Sri Lanka a famous win. The young, vibrant batting line that masterfully chased down a 320+ score against big neighbor India was also heartening.  However, this positive was quickly un-done with some atrocious fielding that brought the fan hopes crashing down in the very next game against Pakistan.  While the fielding must be torn to shreds for its unprofessional display, there is a silver lining and a ray of hope as the brigade settle to repairing the damage.

Skipper expressed his thoughts about the group stage exit but was confident of moving forward after an impressive win against India. He took full responsibility for the debacle and explained himself candidly. “People may have criticized the decisions I took as a captain, but it’s me who’s in charge and I take full responsibility for whatever happens. For an example Kusal Janith Perera went to the pavilion after he got injured while he was batting in a crucial partnership and I took the decision to send him back and let Asela Gunarathne come in and it paid off on a winning cause. At the same time, I under bowled Asela in the Indian game when M.S Dhoni was batting, since I thought that it’s the shorter part of the ground and he may concede runs.”

Sri Lanka Cricket president Thilanga Sumathipala called a nation to be more gentle on their heroes and said “The whole team and the management was gutted that the team couldn’t enter the semi-finals but he was pleased with the effort of all the players who tried their best and made a huge impact as they chased over 300, beating the tournament favorites India in the group stages. Sri Lankan team as a unit were knocked out from the tournament, but sent the other teams a good message. The youngsters performed extremely well in difficult situations and showed lot of character and it will be for the betterment for the future tours”.

Sri Lanka National team coach Graham Ford was impressed with performances of the team, especially the newcomers who stood up with the bat.

“Most of our guys have played less than a handful of matches and are barely experienced compared to a team like India which we completely outplayed in a high scoring encounter. As a cricket loving nation we should stay with the team and encourage them with their talents and target the next tour and take the positives from the Champions trophy. As the coach, I saw what that defeat meant to the players and I know the whole country was hurt but the players were affected much more than that.

Lasith Malinga was questioned about retirement to which he glanced impishly at the rest of his head table before quipping that he intended playing on.