"There is no threat to the tournament" - Sanath Jayasuriya confident of Asia Cup being held in Sri Lanka despite crisis situation

Former Sri Lankan captain Sanath Jayasuriya is confident that the Asia Cup T20 tournament scheduled to be held in the country will go ahead despite the grave financial crisis.

The tournament is set to be held from August 27 to September 11. However, some question marks have been raised over the event in the wake of massive public protests in the country.

Despite protestors barging into the Presidential building, Australia's tour of Sri Lanka recently concluded without any untoward incident. A confident Jayasuriya told PTI in an interview:

"I am very confident that Asia Cup will happen and there is no threat to the tournament. In Sri Lanka, everyone loves cricket and the cricketers from every nation. The Sri Lankan public has absolutely nothing against any cricketer. There will be all necessary support to hold the tournament peacefully."

According to some reports, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) will take a decision later this month on whether it is possible to host the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka under the current situation.

A source was quoted as telling Sportstar:

"The ACC is monitoring the situation and will make a decision in its meeting later this month, keeping all factors in mind."

The Asia Cup was originally scheduled to be held in 2020, but had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and one qualifier (yet to be decided) will take part in this year’s Asia Cup tournament. The event was last held in 2018, with India defeating Bangladesh by three wickets in the final in Dubai.

---

"It couldn't have gotten worse for the common man" - Sanath Jayasuriya on financial crisis in Sri Lanka

Reacting to the financial crisis and civil unrest in Sri Lanka, Jayasuriya lashed out at politicians and lamented that the situation in the island nation is a complete mess. He told PTI:

"It is a very, very sad situation as to what Sri Lankan public has to go through. My country is suffering and I am deeply pained to see people standing in long queues to buy essential food items. There is no electricity, no fuel and above all basic medicines are unavailable. It couldn't have gotten worse for the common man."

He also shared his views on protestors taking control of the President's residence and commented:

"If you ask me about the public, who are currently inside the President's house, I don't see anything wrong as they have been peaceful in their protests. They have been repeatedly told to not vandalise public property."

As a player, Jayasuriya represented Sri Lanka in 110 Tests, 445 ODIs and 31 T20Is, amassing over 21,000 international runs.