Amid widespread protests in Sri Lanka, the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) Board is still confident of hosting upcoming Asia Cup as planned. In an exclusive chat with Sports Tak, SLC secretary Mohan de Silva has said that there is no security problem for overseas players despite protestors entering the President’s House in Colombo on July 9.
Currently, Australia are playing the second Test of the two-Test series at Galle International Stadium, which is 124 km away from the capital city.
Protests have been organised only in Colombo. So, cricket-wise there has been no disturbance so far. Australia are playing and Pakistan team is already here for two Tests. We are confident that we will be able to stage Asia Cup in the coming months.
On being asked whether there have been any security concerns at Galle, De Silva said, “I don’t think there will be any security concerns for players. They (protestors) don’t do anything to tourists and they understand the value of foreigners coming to Sri Lanka economically. It is so valuable. The security situation in regard with the matches is under control.”
De Silva also said that SLC President Shammi Silva is in constant touch with Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah.
“Only thing is we have to watch is the situation in next couple of days. This kind of demonstration can go on for many days. The government will also take cognizance and most probably the situation will be back to normal soon,” he said.
“As of now, we are going ahead with planning and preparation of Asia Cup. For example, final call on logistics like hotel bookings etc will be taken in next couple of days,” he added.
