Sri Lanka’s aspirations for Australia’s tour dashed due to civil war

The worsening economic and political situation in Sri Lanka has raised worries about Australia’s next tour, while both Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and Cricket Australia (CA) insist the month-long series will go ahead.

“At this time, the excursion will go as scheduled. In the coming days, we’ll assess the situation and make a decision “SLC secretary Mohan de Silva said on Wednesday (May 4).

From June 7 to July 12, Australia will play three T20Is, five ODIs, and two Tests.

The uncertainty stems from the scenario at ground zero, as the SLC official admits.

Essentials, fuel, and food stores are in low supply, and people are forced to endure long periods of power outage.

Last month, there was a 12-hour power outage, but the situation appears to have improved to a fluctuating scenario of three hours, give or take. On May Day, there was no power outage.

In this context, some SLC stakeholders questioned whether the SLC should have the day-night games in the first place, with some believing that the white-ball games could be switched to day games.

De Silva stated that a decision will be made shortly, but an SLC official stated that the board is not reliant on the national grid.

“We have our own generators and are not reliant on power from the government. If there is a fuel scarcity, things will be different,” Former Sri Lanka national team manager Charith Senanayake agreed.

“The game has no influence on the political circumstances, and the SLC is always apolitical.”
On May 22, the SLC plans to begin its full-fledged domestic season.

“Whether the game is played during the day or at night is up to the host nation,” a CA official said, confirming that the tour will take place.

“The tour’s status has remained unchanged. Our chief of security confirmed that neither party has any reservations about the tour going forward as planned. In June, the team will arrive in Sri Lanka.”

The prospect of shifting the series out of Sri Lanka was examined, but due to the high heat, the UAE is not the best place for cricket in June-July.

Despite the assurances from the CA and SLC, it can be observed that both boards have expressed concerns to its stakeholders, with both noting that a lot will depend on how the situation plays out in the next 30 days.

“We know what will happen in the next week, so a month is too lengthy to forecast anything.”

Life goes on amid any civil turmoil, and that is what is happening in Sri Lanka (too). The country is insolvent, and the political situation is tumultuous and unpredictable.

Outside the president’s house, political activists are agitating, but I don’t believe he is concerned.

“With their previous experience, the law enforcement agencies are accommodating, and there is no commotion on the streets. People will be listening to music and watching cricket at home.”

“However, it will only take one insane person to break the silence, therefore we can’t foresee what will happen when the series premieres more than a month from now,” Malinda Seneviratne, a political analyst based in Colombo, agrees.

For the cash-strapped SLC, the series is crucial. The tour’s international value is estimated to be at USD 2 million.

The internal media rights are worth around USD 300,000, and the Lanka Board can raise up to USD 3 million in total through ground advertisements and other forms of income.

However, the cost of manufacture would be exactly as expensive.

The SLC could wind up with USD 1 million in revenue at the end of the series, a sizable sum considering the country’s foreign exchange reserves are only $50 million.