8 March 2018 08:12 am
Speaking a day after the Sri Lankan government declared a state of emergency, Muralitharan said, “Our countrymen are safe everywhere in Sri Lanka. There should be nothing to worry.
Muralitharan now lives in Colombo but his siblings and parents live in Kandy.
Murali, who recently returned to Sri Lanka after spending more than two weeks in India and the UAE, also rightly requested not to sensationalise the present situation in the country in the media.
His wife, Madhi, is presently in India.
The other famous Kandy cricketer is Kumar Sangakkara and he is in the UAE for the Pakistan Super League (PSL) matches and is scheduled to return by the end of this month, by when the emergency would have ended. In the meantime, Kandy’s Pallekele International Cricket Stadium remained closed on Wednesday.
“As per police order the stadium is closed today and we are not aware when would we be allowed to open it. But everything is safe here in Kandy and there is absolutely no problem here,” Janaka Pathirana, the cricket chief at Kandy, speaking exclusively to this reporter, said.
In Colombo, everything seemed to be normal and the Bangladesh team have a “new motivator” Shakib ul-Hasan (he is on a short visit to Colombo and scheduled to leave for Australia on March 8) who had a practice session at the R. Premadasa Stadium. Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) chief Nazmul Hasan Papon and a few directors are scheduled to arrive in Sri Lanka before the team’s important match against India on Thursday.
The Bangladeshi team also remained present during the opening ceremony on the first day of the
Nidahas Trophy. (Bipin Dani)