Lasith Malinga and Thisara Perera interact during the first ODI against New Zealand at Bay Oval | Getty
Sri Lankan cricket is hitting new lows with every passing day. As if their recent drubbing in New Zealand and Australia wasn’t enough, an off-field issue has now created chaos in island cricket.
As per a report in ESPNcricinfo, all-rounder Thisara Perera has written a letter to Sri Lanka Cricket CEO Ashley de Silva, asking the board to intervene after a heated exchange with Lasith Malinga’s wife on social media site Facebook.
“We have become the laughing stock of a whole country all because of one person’s personal vendetta,” Perera wrote.
Earlier this month, Malinga’s wife – Tanya Perera – had targetted Thisara in a Facebook post. She had alleged that the all-rounder had gone to meet Sri Lanka’s sports minister in a bid to secure his place in the national side.
Subsequently, Perera defended himself by highlighting his excellent ODI record in 2018. However, after another accusation was posted to taint his image, Perera decided to write a letter to the SLC CEO.
Excerpts of the letter are cited below:
"When these kinds of accusations are made by the incumbent captain's wife on social media, it is hard to prevent the general public from believing and further slandering me in various ways.
"There has been a general sense of unease in the dressing room ever since [the Facebook post] and to be honest the environment was rather unpleasant for the youngsters especially when two senior players were not on the same page. We cannot play as a team with friction. The leadership's role is to create stability and unity within the team even before one could start with a game plan. In this instant I regret to say we had none of the above."
"We are at the verge of the World Cup. Our focus and attention should be on performing well at it instead of bickering over social media on pointless issues. This team is in dire need of steady leadership and guidance. Importantly, and environment of unity is needed… These issues need rectifying ahead of the World Cup. The leadership and seniors of the team must set the example for this.
"We have become the laughing stock of a whole country all because of one person's personal vendetta. This is not something to be taken lightly, especially at a time like this. I humbly request SLC to intervene and help us overcome our difference and move forward with a renewed confidence and sense of unity."
It is worth mentioning here that Malinga was appointed Sri Lanka’s limited-overs skipper ahead of the white-ball series against New Zealand earlier this month. Perera was the captain of the limited-overs side in 2017.
(With inputs from ESPNCricinfo)
