Sri Lanka’s Superstar Chamari Athapaththu says her personal perspective was to be given exposure to the rest of the world about the talent that is available outside of Australia.
Athapaththu who was interviewed on Zoom by Multicultural Australian media this morning (25), said that money and personal gain secondary to enjoyment and honing personal skills with and against the best players in the world.
She underlined the need for more players from Asia particularly Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and other promising countries to be given the opportunity to showcase their talent so as to promote and provide a level playing field on the global scale.
“Really enjoying my stay in Sydney. Thunders is like my new home. Conditions are similar to Sri Lanka. I would call a batting paradise so far.
Franchise cricket is not all about money, it’s about learning new skills, culture and getting experience. I know many women players from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka who are keen to feature in WBBL due to the standard and pace of cricket over here. I would urge franchises to give more South Asian girls an opportunity to shine in WBBL. WBBL is one of the best franchise leagues and I will take this knowledge to the young players of Sri Lanka. Kavish Dilhari, Vishmi and Harshita from Sri Lanka should be in world’s franchise leagues.
Cricket Sri Lanka is also planning to organize a T10 Womens league in Sri Lanka in December. It would likely be a four-franchise based tournament.
I have a good relationship with England’s Heather knight and not getting any banter from Heather Knight. She is controlling the squad very well here in Sydney Thunders.
Always try to lead from the front when I wear blue jersey from Sri Lanka. A message to all the young girls is to just focus on the present and play fearless. Don’t think about the future“
