Wanindu Hasaranga and Bhanuka Rajapaksa are among the Sri Lanka players featuring in IPL amid the economic crisis in their country.
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Sri Lanka World Cup winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga has urged his national team players to withdraw from the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 and support their country in the nation wide protest in the face of the economic crisis.
Sri Lanka players like Wanindu Hasaranga (RCB) and Bhanuka Rajapaksa (PBKS) are amongst those prominent names participating in the IPL 2022 with the likes of Maheesh Theekshana also a part of the lucrative tournament.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka legends, Kumar Sangakkara (RR) and Muttiah Muralitharan (SRH) are serving in mentorship and coaching capacities in their respective franchises.
“I really don’t know but there are some cricketers who are lavishly playing in the IPL and haven’t spoken about their country. Unfortunately, people are scared to speak against the government. These cricketers are also working for the cricket board under the ministry and they are trying to protect their jobs. But now they have to take a step as some of the young cricketers also came forward and gave statements in support of the protest,” Arjuna Ranatunga told ANI.
“When something is going wrong, you should have the guts to come out and speak against it, without thinking about your business. People ask me why I am not in the protests. It’s just that I have been into politics for the last 19 years and this is not a political issue. So far, none of the political parties and politicians have got into the protests and that’s the biggest strength of the people of this country,” he added.
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The beautiful island nation is grappling with its worst economic crisis due to its foreign exchange crunch, with lack of resources, and the government failing to make up for it. Sri Lanka depends on its tourism industry to support at least 10 per cent of its GDP but the pandemic has disallowed the natural flow of income generated through it.
The situation has led to prices of essential commodities surging while there is scarcity of electricity, food, fuel and medicine across the country. Protesters have surrounded the house of President Gotabya Rajapaksa in large numbers with cricketers who sweated it out for the nation on the 24-yard either joining forces or raising their voice at the face of it.
Sri Lanka legends Jayasuriya and Marvan Atappatu, who once shared the national team dressing room, have now taken to the streets to protest against the government.
The former Sri Lanka Test captain was seen holding a banner, which said, “Save Sri Lanka for our next generation,” with the hashtags ‘Go Home Gota’ and ‘Corrupted Politics’ on it while Atapattu was seen protesting with his wife in Colombo.
