Thisara Perera seeks help regarding Facebook row: The Sri Lankan all-rounder has asked for assistance over a recent post.
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Sri Lanka all-rounder Thisara Perera has raised questions on the captaincy of the ODI team post his his Facebook row with Tanya Perera, wife of captain Lasith Malinga.
Thisara was at the other end of a criticism after Tanya seemed to have accused him (earlier this year) of meeting the country’s new sports minister in an attempt to secure his place in the national side. In a bid to clear the air regarding the same, Thisara wants the cricket board to ‘intervene’.
Highlighting his rich form in 2018, Thisara took to his Facebook account to defend himself from the criticism. In 20 ODIs since the start of 2018, Thisara has scored 639 runs at an average of 42.60 and a strike rate of 127.54, including his maiden ODI century and three half-centuries. With the ball in hand, Thisara picked up 27 wickets at an average of 25, an economy rate of 6.22 and a strike rate of 24.1.
Thisara Perera wins it for Comilla Victorians with key wickets in Dhaka Dynamites’ chasehttps://t.co/Aztl3Vqi2Z #BPL2019 pic.twitter.com/AeyXtUKDST
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) January 22, 2019
Thisara Perera calls for an end to bickering on social media, through mainstream media.
The players need to focus on their own performances ahead of anything else.#lka #SriLanka #Cricket https://t.co/ava8IDIhOe— Dinouk Colombage (@Dinouk_C) January 30, 2019
In a letter written to SLC (Sri Lanka Cricket) CEO Ashley de Silva, Thisara laid emphasis on the team becoming ‘the laughing stock of a whole country’ and how ahead of ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, the team’s focus is not on the tournament but on ‘pointless issues’.
“When these kinds of accusations are made by the incumbent captain’s wife on social media, it is hard to prevent the general public from believing and further slandering me in various ways.
“There has been a general sense of unease in the dressing room ever since [the Facebook post] and to be honest the environment was rather unpleasant for the youngsters especially when two senior players were not on the same page. We cannot play as a team with friction. The leadership’s role is to create stability and unity within the team even before one could start with a game plan. In this instant I regret to say we had none of the above.
I’m sure Thisara Perera’s @PereraThisara letter must be a confidential one. Who leaked that to the media? @OfficialSLC This will create more damage.
— A.J.Azeezul Haq (@lankamail) January 30, 2019
“The team is in dire need of steady leadership and guidance. Importantly an environment of unity is needed in the dressing room, something we lack so very desperately at the moment, These issues need rectifying ahead of the World Cup” Cricketer Thisara Perera writes to SLC #lka
— Azzam Ameen (@AzzamAmeen) January 29, 2019
“We are at the verge of the World Cup. Our focus and attention should be on performing well at it instead of bickering over social media on pointless issues. This team is in dire need of steady leadership and guidance. Importantly, and environment of unity is needed… These issues need rectifying ahead of the World Cup. The leadership and seniors of the team must set the example for this.
“We have become the laughing stock of a whole country all because of one person’s personal vendetta. This is not something to be taken lightly, especially at a time like this. I humbly request SLC to intervene and help us overcome our difference and move forward with a renewed confidence and sense of unity,” Thisara’s letter read according to ESPNcricinfo.
Apart from playing a vital role with both the bat and ball in the recent times for Sri Lanka, Thisara had also captained the ODI side during Sri Lanka’s tour of India in 2017.
