A huge street party , which was organised to mark the success of Sri Lanka’s World Twenty20 win, was reportedly marred by controversy over the retirements of veteran players Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara.
Thousands of cheering fans waving national flags lined the street from the main international airport to downtown Colombo, a distance of 35 kilometres, causing traffic chaos across the capital as the team passed by in a motorcade.
According to Sport24, the two former captains had revealed to the media at the airport that there were serious disagreements about their retirement from Twenty20 cricket, with Jayawardene saying that his remarks that the tournament may be his final T20 appearance has been taken as notice of his intention to retire.
Based on that assumption, Jayawardene said, he was criticised by a cricket board official, who went public without actually confirming from them whether they had made those remarks to the media.
Both the players further said that they had been uncertain whether they would play in the World T20 tournament until a few hours before they were due to leave for Bangladesh, although Sangakkara was in celebratory mood despite grumbles with the board.
The victory on Sunday night in Dhaka came 18 years after Sri Lanka’s triumph in the 50-over World Cup, which had been followed by a series of defeats in the finals of major tournaments, the report added. (ANI)