WATCH: Sri Lanka coach Rumesh Ratnayake on rain frustrations in Pakistan
Sport360 staff
10:36 30/09/2019
Sport360 staff
10:36 30/09/2019
Rain is threatening to wash out cricket history this week as Sri Lanka face the very real chance of finishing their tour of Pakistan without playing a single over of cricket.
Unseasonal rain in Karachi washed out the first ODI on Friday and that forced the Pakistan Cricket Board to reschedule the second ODI for Monday instead of Sunday. The third and final match is scheduled at the same venue on Wednesday.
Sri Lanka had just two training sessions since they arrived in Pakistan last Tuesday where they will also play three Twenty20s in Lahore between October 5-9.
âEven before we came here the preparations were hampered by rain (in Sri Lanka), it seems as if itâs raining in the whole world,â said Sri Lanka coach Rumesh Ratnayake, who has played 23 test matches and 70 ODIs for Sri Lanka.
âThe prep hasnât all been that good but thatâs not going to be an excuse which I will give because they are all professional players,â he added.
Ten of Sri Lankaâs top players refused to travel to Pakistan for the limited-overs series due to security concerns despite the Pakistan government providing the team with high level security normally reserved for heads of state.
âEven though 10 players arenât here, the people who have taken their place are aware that they are challenged to do well, itâs for their future also, so hope there wonât be any rain,â Ratnayake said.
Pakistan is due to host Sri Lanka in December for two test matches as part of the World Test Championship and Ratnayke said he hopes the present series goes some way to addressing playersâ concerns.
âThis will just be a pre-cursor for that tour,â Ratnayake said. âIâm sure this will certainly encourage the others to take decisions, we canât enforce it on them.
âThey have taken a decision and we have to respect that, but certainly if things go well, this is a huge thing for the future, not only for them but for all other countries to be here.â
The coach said itâs not difficult for him to keep his players motivated despite the fact that they will be up against a strong Pakistan team.
Karachi hasnât hosted an ODI in 10 years since Sri Lanka last played here in 2009.
It is the first time since Sri Lankaâs team bus was attacked in Lahore in 2009 that a foreign team will conduct a two-week tour of Pakistan.
Major teams have avoided the country since that ambush, which killed eight people and injured several players.