Reports: Civil unrest in Sri Lanka forces changes in Australia tour

The people of Sri Lanka are going through one of their toughest hardships at the moment as the financial and economic crisis in the country has caused civil unrest. As a reason, the cricketing boards had to force changes to the Australia tour of Sri Lanka, which includes three T20Is, five ODIs, and two Tests.

The three T20Is and five ODIs scheduled between June 7 to June 24 have been changed as day games due to a lack of fuel and medicines, as well as rolling power outages. The Sri Lankan cricketing body has not officially announced the change, but a Sydney Morning Herald report said that a source close to Cricket Australia (CA) had confirmed the developments.

“The players are very aware of the situation in Sri Lanka, and it’s fair to say there is a level of discomfort around touring in conditions that contrast those faced by the people of Sri Lanka, such as rising food prices, power cuts, and fuel rationing,” Todd Greenberg, Australian Cricketers’ Association’s (ACA) chief executive, was quoted as saying.

Greenberg believes that the cricketers wish to keep the game going and that they will follow CA’s directions to tour Sri Lanka successfully. He said that the players understand what the countrymen go through during such a period of crisis, and said that they will get in touch with the concerned party to offer help, just as they did in the case of India last year when the country was going through one of the worst phases of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Ultimately, our players want to continue to play cricket and will take direction, guidance, and advice from CA about tour arrangements and planning. Our players are very fortunate to be able to ply their trade across the world and, as part of this, they form an affinity with the people from these countries. We saw an example of that last year when the players left the IPL in India during the COVID crisis and were genuinely shaken by what they saw. Almost immediately, they coalesced their support behind a UNHCR campaign to raise funds and provide hospitals with much-needed oxygen,” he stated.

Amid the turmoil, Cricket Australia has insisted that the two Tests, which begin on June 29 and July 8, will go through as scheduled.

“We are keeping a close eye on developments in Sri Lanka and talking regularly with DFAT [Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade] and Sri Lanka Cricket. Our players and support staff have been briefed and will continue to be kept up to date. There are almost three weeks until the scheduled departure of the squad and, at this stage, there are no changes to the schedule,” read a statement.