Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa yesterday slammed Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MPs Hesha Withanage and Chaminda Wijesiri for the questions they raised on the recently concluded T20 World Cup cricket tournament.
Addressing Parliament yesterday, SJB MP Hesha Withanage questioned why former Sri Lanka cricketer and consultant to the national team Mahela Jayawardena had not remained for the latter part of the tournament.
Responding to him, Minister Namala Rajapaksa said that Mahela Jayawardena had returned home due to family reasons, and added that however, the former cricketer had been in constant touch and had been advising the team via technology throughout the tournament.
SJB MP Chaminda Wijesiri then pointed out the lack of experience and also questioned some tactical decisions taken during the tournament.
Sports Minister Rajapaksa responded by stating that MP Wijesiri had initially challenged him to show if the team can enter the 2nd round of the tournament and is now questioning why they didn’t qualify for the semi-finals.
Stating that there is a difference between speaking off the field and actually playing in the field, Minister Namal Rajapaksa pointed out that top teams such as India and the West Indies have also failed to qualify for the semi-finals.
He further said he stands by the Sri Lanka T20 team’s captain and is proud of the national side’s performance in the tournament. (NewsWire)