Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara is surprised that Sri Lanka, as the other co hosts, do not enjoy the luxury of playing all their ICC World Cup preliminary round matches at home.
“Why should we play in India against New Zealand when we are the hosts?” asked Sri Lankan skipper Sangakkara after playing Zimbabwe in Kandy.
Sri Lanka is due to play New Zealand at Mumbai’s Wankhede stadium in the last league match, and this has irritated the skipper.
“We were surprised when we learnt that we will have to travel to Mumbai to play the game against New Zealand. I was under the impression that as hosts we play all our matches at home.”
Sangakkara made it a point to note that other hosts are not doing the same. “India and Bangladesh, who are also host countries, play all their matches at home. Why should we be exposed to alien conditions?” was his question.
However, the Sri Lanka skipper is not going to get too worried about it now. “It does not matter where we finish, as long as we qualify. We will give our best in the coming matches. Playing the New Zealand game is beyond our control and you can’t change that now. We need to be up for the task now.”
Sri Lanka will now train at the Pallekele stadium here for their March 10 match against Zimbabwe. “The conditions in Kandy will be favourable for us. We will work hard and do our best against Zimbabwe,” he said, disappointed over the rain washed out match against Australia.