Factum Perspective: Bowling for Sri Lanka
By Zeenath Ayub
The Sri Lankan men’s cricket team clinched a win at their first warm-up match against Zimbabwe in the T20 World Cup 2022 early this week, ahead of its inaugural group stage encounter with Namibia, where they faced defeat. Regardless of the latter, Captain Dasun Shanaka and his team have been exceptional in their performances during the past few months at all their major tournaments.
The six-week Australia tour of Sri Lanka which took place in June-July this year could be described as having boosted the financial prospects of the crisis-stricken island nation. The tour not only injected cash into the economy, but it was also used as a means of promoting tourism through the inception of the “visit Sri Lanka” campaign. It was, however, more than just money for the Sri Lankans battling with their worst economic crisis since independence. It was also a ray of happiness, joy and excitement during hard times.
The tour indeed put a smile on the faces of millions of Sri Lankans, as the team emerged victorious in five out of the 10 matches played, including the One Day International (ODI) series win. Sri Lankan fans did not fail in expressing their gratitude to the Australian Cricket team for touring the country at an extremely difficult time. This was seen throughout the tour when fans carried banners and placards thanking the Australian team for visiting the country.
Sri Lanka’s back-to-back triumphs at this tour gave much hope and new strength to the team and the fans in moving into the Asia Cup 2022 held about a month later. More enthusiasm and rejoice followed with news of Sri Lanka gaining host rights at the tournament, in view of the fact that the country’s economic stability could be further strengthened due to the many advantages that would lead from hosting of one of Asia’s biggest sporting tournaments.
Shattering the hopes of all Sri Lankan cricket fans, however, the venue of the Asia Cup 2022 was moved to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) a fortnight before the commencement of the tournament, while Sri Lanka retained the hosting rights. The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) was forced by the economic and political instability in the island to make this “difficult” decision, as stated by the president of the ACC.
However, the Sri Lankan players and the cricket board ensured to make the maximum use of the retained host rights to promote tourism throughout the Asia Cup 2022 tournament. It was quite evident how the island nation took over many strategies towards this cause.
The most prominent of these strategies was the display of #visitSriLanka stickers on the bats of the players. Upon the request of the government, the Sri Lanka Cricket board had sought permission from the ACC to use these stickers to support the deteriorating tourism industry of the country. Sanath Jayasuriya, the Sri Lankan Tourism Ambassador and former star cricketer echoed these same sentiments.
The Asia Cup 2022 continued as a success story for Sri Lanka. Although starting off the tournament with an extremely painful defeat vis-à-vis Afghanistan to being labeled as an underdog in the initial days, Dasun Shanaka and Co. turned the tables for the Sri Lankan team at the tournament with a 2-wicket victory over Bangladesh. A huge comeback followed when the country went on to win all other matches at the Asia Cup.
Celebrations peaked on the 11th of September, with the Sri Lankan team emerging as champions at the Asia Cup 2022, a major cricket tournament victory for the country after eight years and a much-needed boost of spirit for 21 million plus hearts.
Adding to the Asia Cup win at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium was the Asian Netball Championship, brought to the country earlier the same day by Gayanjali Amrawansa and her team. The Sri Lankan Netball team secured a massive win against the Singapore team to clinch the victory at this tournament.
The 11th of September had more in store for the country. The Sri Lankan Legends team had their very first match against the Australia Legends at The Road Safety World Series 2022, which had just begun by then in India. Here too, Sri Lanka emerged victorious, making the day a historical one in Sri Lanka’s sports calendar.
The brand ambassador of Sri Lanka Tourism, Sanath Jayasuriya, who also happened to be a part of the Sri Lankan Legends team playing in India, had made an appeal to the Indians to visit Sri Lanka to support its economy.
Within a month after these thrilling sports victories came the Women’s Asia Cup cricket tournament, to add more flavor to the sweetness of triumph. The Sri Lankan Women’s cricket team secured its place at the finals of the tournament for the very first time in 14 years, by defeating Pakistan at a nail-biting semifinal encounter, and went on to grab the title of “runners-up” at the finals, held yesterday with an unexpected defeat vis-à-vis the Indian Women’s Team.
All these victories can potentially pave the way towards the island nation gaining more recognition from the rest of the world, a means of earning more opportunities not only in sports but unquestionably also in resurrecting its dying economy. The upcoming Lanka Premier League (LPL) in December would also go on to open doors for foreign players, and would certainly work in favor of the country to further strengthen its battered economy.
Zeenath Ayub is a student researcher at Factum and can be reached at zeenath@factum.lk
Factum is an Asia Pacific-focused think tank on International Relations, Tech Cooperation and Strategic Communications accessible via www.factum.lk