Sri Lankan ODI squad's departure to India gets delayed due to inadequate reasons

The ongoing Sri Lanka’s tour of India has already seen a lot of dramas both on the field and off the field. The headlining events in this series so far, be it smog interruption during the final Test match at New Delhi or the announcement of a new skipper for the ODIs and T20Is in all-rounder Thisara Perera. Now as per recent reports, the Lankan ODI squad members were asked to go back home from the airport as proper approval was not received from the sports minister.

The visiting players were scheduled to leave for India on December 5 but their departure got delayed due to some approval concerns. It is also that point of time that the Lankans need to show some fight and competition in the upcoming limited overs series. The ongoing three-match Test series scoreline reads 1-0, but the hosts have completely dominated in all departments of the game.

Team didn’t get approval from the Sports Minister

The delay in departure of the ODI squad was a serious concern as one of the members of the team being left-arm spinner Sachith Pathirana had already boarded the flight to India, but then all the nine players were called back. It is also to be noted that before travelling the team needs to seek proper clearance from the sports ministry, which is a major protocol in Sri Lanka. But this whole situation reveals the standards of the Lankan cricket and the workings of the higher authorities. As per some sources, it was announced that the matters are expected to be solved by Tuesday evening and the team would leave for India by Wednesday.

“Most players reached the airport around 9 pm on Monday. Left-arm spinner Sachith Pathirana had even boarded the flight, but they were told to go back home as the team didn’t have the approval of the minister of sports,” said a cricket official in a conversation with Cricbuzz.

“We expect to resolve the matter by Tuesday evening and players should be in India by Wednesday morning,” revealed the sources.