Dayasiri says he has a right to criticise sports teams

By Chathuri Dissanayake

Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekara defended his criticism of the Sri Lankan cricket team by saying that his position as the minister in charge of sports offered him the right to be critical of any national sports team.

Repeatedly emphasising that he was not attacking individual players, he said that the situation has now gotten out of hand with former cricket captains and player managers getting involved in the matter. Responding to the call by former national cricket captain Minister Arjuna Ranatunga to hold an inquiry into the 2011World Cup, Jayasekara said a formal request had to be made for the ministry to take action.

“If a request is given in writing I can hold an inquiry. But he was the Sports Minister for two years; he could have done the inquiries then. This whole thing has gotten out of hand. We cannot be holding inquiries on all the incidents of the past,” Jayasekara said when asked if he would also carry out an investigation into the terror attack on the national cricket team in Lahore in 2009 as publicly suggested by then captain Kumar Sangakkara.