BAN vs SL: "Countries are being treated differently" - Sri Lanka file official complaint over poor treatment in T20 World Cup

Sri Lanka have lodged an official complaint with the International Cricket Council (ICC) over the treatment meted out to them in the ongoing ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024.

There have been murmurs of dissatisfaction from the Sri Lankan camp over the venues for their group games. The Islanders will have to travel extensively for the group games as all of their games are being played at different venues.

They played their first game in New York while the second and third games are scheduled to take place in Dallas and Florida respectively. Sri Lanka will then fly to the Caribbeans for their final group game in St Lucia. Sri Lanka's Sports Minister Harin Fernando raised the issue in the parliament and also revealed that the team had lodged a formal protest after the squad was held up by a seven-hour flight delay in Miami before their trip to New York.

The 2014 T20 World Cup winners are also not happy with the location of the team hotel. They were given accommodation in a hotel that is more than a 90-minute drive from the practice stadium in New York. Fernando accused the ICC of preferential treatment as he said that the likes of India and Pakistan were given accommodations closer to the venue.

"Sri Lanka Cricket has complained to the ICC," Fernando told parliament.

"Different countries are being treated differently. We have called for an explanation from the organisers of the tournament.”

Recently, Sri Lanka's veteran allrounder Anglo Mathews also expressed his disappointment over the facilities being provided to the team in the USA. Speaking to broadcaster Ada Derana TV, the former Sri Lanka skipper stated that the past few days had been "most challenging".

"Practice facilities are not good. Wickets are not good. Last four to five days have been very challenging for us," he said.

"We had to cancel practices because a flight was delayed. We are not going to use this as an excuse, we are a team that has won despite obstacles. We want to put all this behind us and do well at the next match," he added.

Sri Lanka's disastrous start:

Sri Lanka started their campaign in the T20 World Cup on a disastrous note. They suffered a six-wicket loss against South Africa in their tournament opener earlier this week. South Africa bowled out Sri Lanka for just 77 runs before chasing down the total with ease in the end.

Sri Lanka will be looking to bounce back when they take on Bangladesh in their next game. The match is scheduled to take place on Saturday (June 8).