For the second time in Pallekele, rain forced the players off the field as India and Nepal players scurried off the ground after 38 overs to avoid getting drenched in this hilly Sri Lankan region. India’s innings too was interrupted by rain after just 2.1 overs.
Rain in Sri Lanka in August, September, and October is not a new phenomenon.
The 2002 Champions Trophy final between India and Sri Lanka was played twice over two days, and on both days, rains arrived in the evening, when India started their chase, leading to India and Sri Lanka sharing the trophy. The 2012 T20 World Cup also had rain-affected games.
India’s tour to Sri Lanka in August 2006 was meant to be a comeback for Sachin Tendulkar after the surgery to fix his tennis elbow, and there was a huge media contingent that had travelled to the island nation. What started off as a tri-series between India, Sri Lanka, and South Africa became a three-match bilateral ODI series after South Africa cut short their stay following a series of bomb blasts near their team hotel.
However, only 22 balls were possible in that three-match series as Colombo was in a never-ending wet spell. It begs the question why Sri Lanka was chosen as a co-host to conduct the Asia Cup during these months. India’s reluctance to travel to Pakistan – despite teams like Australia, South Africa, England, and New Zealand playing full tours there – meant that their matches had to be staged elsewhere.
Former PCB chief Najam Sethi, in his deliberations with the BCCI and Asian Cricket Council President Jay Shah, had suggested that the tournament be moved to the UAE if India did not want to travel to Pakistan. However, the ACC said it was too hot in the UAE in September.
Incidentally, the 50-over Asia Cup in 2018, for which India was the host, was played in the UAE in September. The delayed IPL in 2020 and the second leg of the T20 league in 2021 were both played in the UAE in September, as was the T20 Asia Cup last year.
Sethi rightly lashed out on social media on Sunday as he posted. “How disappointing! Rain mars the greatest contest in cricket. But this was forecast. As PCB chair, I urged the ACC to play in UAE, but poor excuses were made to accommodate Sri Lanka.”
Too hot in Dubai, they said. But it was as hot when the Asia Cup was played there last time in Sep 2022 or when IPL was played there in April 2014 and Sep 2020. Politics over sport. Unforgivable!”
As Colombo, the venue of the Super Four contest between India and Pakistan on Sunday, is again under a wet spell, there is a last-ditch attempt to move the games out of Colombo. The R Premadasa is also slated to host four other Super Four games as well as the final on September 17.
But with the forecast looking grim, the ACC, in a late face-saving attempt, after receiving a roasting from fans on social media and from spectators who have travelled to watch their teams play, is a mulling a change in venue to either Dambulla or Hambantota. Both are drier towns. The Colombo leg starts on September 9.