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Follow UsSri Lankans love cricket. There has never been a shred of doubt about that. But how much? It has always intrigued me to no end.
The Emerald Isle boasts some of the generational greats of the sport, and even though it has lost its ability to produce world-class cricketers in recent years, with the bigger societal issues threatening to destroy the very fabric, cricket hasn’t become an afterthought in a nation of barely 22.16 million people. You still see Sri Lankans throng to the stadium to make their presence felt and rally behind their team in a way few teams’ fans could do.
Hence, to know Sri Lanka is to see Sri Lankans through the prism of cricket. Be it the posh Galle Face in South Colombo or the Maligawatta suburb where the R Premadasa Stadium is located, cricket is the ultimate form of expression. It is normal to see a cricket match in every open space available, pretty much like a Mumbai or Chennai, but perhaps with more intrinsic appeal.
After the financial downturn in 2022, in which the country suffered unprecedented inflation and near-depletion of foreign exchange reserves, survival became a luxury. Even now, the worst is not over for the country. They still have more than $80bn of debt, which includes more than $7bn of loans from China, Sri Lanka's largest bilateral creditor.
Food and commodity prices are through the roof, and the buck has been passed onto the common people, who have seen all government subsidies being removed and life becoming a painful exercise, in literal terms.
LirneAsia, a regional policy research organization, recently conducted a survey to draw insights that 33% of the respondents had skipped a meal, and 47% reduced their meal sizes after the currency crisis in 2022. As a matter of fact, about 27% of adults restricted their meals to feed children. In such a scenario, expecting them to pay and support their team may be the last of the priorities.
But resilience is the second name of Sri Lankans. Even though politicians have largely failed them, it is a country that has come out from a three-decade-long civil war and still retained the very notion of Sri Lankan authenticity. Just like Wambatu moju, an extremely flavorful eggplant pickle, or Kiribath, a type of rice cooked with thick coconut milk, they know how to stand out.
Sri Lankans are lovely people overall. You wouldn’t see a lot of Uber cancellations here or anyone trying to unfairly charge you a heavy price. In fact, it is the opposite. They wouldn’t take a second to identify you as an Indian and then treat you the best. Whether telling you the best local food place even before you ask for it, setting a checklist for shopping in the Pettah market or talking about Bollywood, it is “Atithi Devo Bhava” in its purest form
On the stands of Premadasa, when rain threatened to play a spoilsport in the India-Sri Lanka game on Tuesday, their fans stayed put. Even when a bunch of Indians and Pakistani vociferously supported India - the latter needed an India win for Pakistan to hold a chance of qualifying for the finale - there was no acrimonious situation apart from a couple of drunk fans inciting a mini fight.
In fact, the Lankans enjoyed the sight together, making fun of the other party and eventually passing on a hi-fi, irrespective of the game situation.
Against Pakistan, the story was even more poignant. It was a virtual semi-final, no less, and their team needed their 12th men more than ever. The stadium was filled to capacity, at least by 80%, with Lion beers flowing through and through. Some loud Pakistani fans made their presence known, but Sri Lankan fans have seen the same movie so many times to be fluttered. The genial species could count it a flicker of things to come.
After all, they are the defending champions of Asia till a new winner is announced.
As Kusal Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama added runs with a tickle, every single one of them was cheered by the fans. As Rahul Mansur, an Indian fan on the A Upper stand, said, one could really feel the intense emotion of Lankan fans and how much cricket meant to them. “I was told to leave the ground after I was seen cheering for Pakistan. I just wanted an India-Pakistan final, but they thought I was a Paki fan. Just to egg them on, I said would leave on the 17th with the trophy. Sri Lankan fans may be passionate, but they know how to take a joke. I am having an incredible time here,” Rahul added.
The 40000-strong Colombo crowd were on their feet the entire time. After Samarawickrama, their best batter in the series by a margin was stumped for the third time in the ongoing Asia Cup, there was pin-drop silence in the stands. The fortune ebbed and flew with the emotions syncing with it. You could very well be outside the stadium and could figure out the score just from the chants.
Ultimately, Sri Lanka found themselves on the winning side and made it to their second successive Asia Cup final. The crowd had found its voice, and it oozed right through to deliver an enchanting cacophony.
For them, it was not just a win; it was a pure, unbridled expression of the ultimate Sri Lankan reality.
