By Neena Bhandari, IANS
Sydney : The Sri Lankan team has asked Cricket Australia for increased security following an attack on their players and officials.
It is still not clear whether it was star spinner Muttiah Muralitharan who was the target of an egg thrown at members of the Sri Lankan camp Thursday night in Hobart, Tasmania.
Sri Lanka’s team manager Shriyan Samararatne told reporters Sunday, “A group of four was walking from a restaurant to the team hotel and an egg was thrown at them from a car, but I am not sure if they recognised Murali.”
“I don’t know the exact motive was. I doubt whether they recognised Murali but unfortunately he was there. We have told Cricket Australia about it and they were very upset.”
Sri Lanka Cricket Secretary Kangadaran Mathivanan was quoted as saying: “The crowd even hurled some objects as they surrounded the team cars. Police were brought in and the team management helped guide the players to the safety of their hotel rooms.
“We have sent an e-mail to Cricket Australia asking them to beef up security around our players on and off the field.”
Muralitharan, who has become the world’s leading Test wicket-taker beating Shane Warne’s record, has never had it easy in Australia and the hostility had come to such a pass that he had refused to tour Australia in 2004.
For now, the Sri Lankans are focusing on playing their first match of the tri-series against India in Brisbane Tuesday.