EMERGING TEAMS ASIA CUP 2023 HOSTED BY SRI LANKA
- “We are well balanced side to handling pressure” – Sri Lanka A Captain
- Rest of the team captains look forward to the mega event
By Srian Obeyesekere
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) Vice President and Tournament Director of the mega Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Men’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2023, addressing the packed press conference in connection with the event, emphasised the fact that currently Sri Lanka was the hub of cricket with over 200 officials and players from the Asian region assembled in Sri Lanka with the trophy and cash prize stakes for grabs.
“With Sri Lanka a cricket hub with Asia’s Men’s Emerging Teams Cup for grabs it is an important opportunity for young players to perform and emerge. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has taken lots of effort to stage this tournament and it is as much a boon for the country as a whole economically.”
Emphasising the invaluable foreign exchange input for Sri Lanka from the staging of such a tournament, Wickramaratne, an administrative figure packing tremendous know how and organizational experience, added that Sri Lanka Cricket was in the circumstances happy to therein contribute its mite to the country on the economic front.
The captains of the participating A teams – India’s namely Yash Dhull, Pakistan’s Mohamedd Haris, Bangladesh’s Mohammed Saif, Afghanistan’s Shahidulla Kamal, Oman’s Aqib Illyas Sulehri, Nepal’s Rohit Paudel and UAE’s Ali Naseer flanked by Sri Lanka’s Dunith Wellalage, and team managers were accorded a warm welcome by Sri Lanka Cricket at Colombo’s Cinnamon Grand Hotel.
Veteran compere and television commentator Roshan Abeysinghe was quick to make special mention of Duleep Mendis as a doyen of Sri Lanka cricket now domiciled in Oman charged with developing the country’s cricket.
“We extend a warm welcome to Duleep Mendis former Sri Lanka cricket captain,manager, chief selector and chief executive officer,” Abeysinghe quipped.
Meanwhile, the respective captains expressed their pleasure to be in Sri Lanka for such a mega event and their optimism on performing to potential for the trophy grabs.
Sri Lanka A Skipper Dunith Wellalage, responding to a question by Sri Lanka Cricket website, said that he was looking forward to making the most of the big break that had come his way. “I’m looki forward to it and I must say weare a well balanced side and do look forward to give a good account of ourselves. We have learnt a lot of things on how to handle pressure,” he remarked.
