“In the immediate aftermath of the tsunami we did not encourage tourists, but now that many parts of the affected east and south coasts are clear we have given the green light. It is vital that tourists return to Sri Lanka. It is not just the hotels and resorts that have suffered, but the thousands of subsidiary businesses that rely on tourism.”
“As a person who loves cricket in Sri Lanka I worked hard to execute my responsibility as the chairman of the committee. It is regretful that the expected outcome was not there. Under these circumstances I am left with no alternative but to resign.”
“There were a few things that I wasn't at all happy with during my association with SLC and I just waited till the team returned from India to hand over my resignation.”
“From what we have seen in the past few games, they are more than capable of missing out on the final with the way Sri Lanka and South Africa have played. You can see the way they crumble under pressure. When there is no pressure, they look really good and are tough to beat. But they panic under pressure and they looked awful and vulnerable the other night.”
“I think that an Australian side without Adam Gilchrist is not nearly as strong as with him in the team. Sri Lanka and South Africa could beat them no problem on their day. This is a very good opportunity now for Sri Lanka to come to the top. But I don't think our players will worry if Australia are being arrogant. If they are cocky, that's their problem, not ours.”
