'Politics among players should be stopped'

Parliament reporters

Jayasuriya, MP

Former Sri Lanka cricket capitan Sanath Jayasuriya told Parliament yesterday that cricket has not been politicized, however, politics between players should be stopped immediately.

He blamed players for the cricket crisis and losses.

Participating in the third reading stage of the budget proposals under the votes of Sports Ministry, MP Jayasuriya said it was wrong to blame the government or the party in power, the President, the cricket and the Sports Ministry if the players keep losing the matches. "It is almost the same team that played in the World Cup tournament that now represents the country. Only Murali is not there. The problem of losing the matches is solely due to a problem with the players," he said.

There are accusations that the Sri Lanka cricket is in a severe financial crisis, he said. 'But considering the future tour plans of the team we can see we have lots of matches for the next five years. The estimated income to Sri Lanka Cricket from these matches would be around US$ 26 million a year. With this money coming in, the Board could turn around the losses," he said adding that 'we must wait and see with patience rather than creating a big issue out of practical situations.