Harin Fernando, Sri Lanka’s young and dynamic Sports Minister, On Friday, attended first day of national team’s five day encounter against Australia at Canberra.
With 1-0 lead in two match series, Australia opted to bat first after winning the toss. They stumbled early with 28/3, however defining hundreds by opener Joe Burns and Trevis Head helped Australia to reach at dominant position.
Harin, meanwhile, has reached Canberra to give a much needed confidence booster to the team Amids controversies and tension between players.
On January 26, Sri Lanka’s allrounder Thisara Perera wrote a letter to SLC CEO Ashley De Silva, asking him to intervene and stop national team’s shorter formats captain Lasith Malinga’s wife from maligning his image. In the letter, Thisara also mentioned that the team is badly divided at the moment and there is no unity amongs the players at all.
To solve the crisis, Harin addressed the team before the start of the test yesterday.
More importantly, unlike his Predecessors, Harin did not use the Sri Lanka Cricket Board (SLC) or Sports Ministry money, instead is traveling on his own expenses.
