Asia Cup 2022: Victorious Sri Lankan team to celebrate triumph with double-decker ride

After
losing
the
2022
Asia
Cup
opener,
Dasun
Shanaka-led
Sri
Lanka
handed
Pakistan
a
23-run
defeat
in
the
final
to
clinch
the
Asia
Cup.
On
Monday,
officials
revealed
that
the
members
of
the
victorious
team
will
travel
through
Colombo
on
a
double-decker
bus
and
interact
with
fans
to
celebrate
their
emphatic
win.

Sri
Lanka,
the
official
hosts,
were
the
underdogs
when
the
tournament
got
underway.
But
Shanaka’s
men
regrouped
after
their
opening
day
loss
to
defeat
favourites
India
and
Pakistan
en
route
to
the
title.

Sri
Lanka’s
win
brings
the
much-needed
joy
to
the
crisis-hit
country,
which
saw
the
tournament
being
shifted
to
the
UAE.
The
players
broke
into
celebration
at
the
Dubai
International
Stadium
following
their
stunning
win.
With
the
nation
being
hit
with
one
of
the
worst
economic
turmoils
in
several
decades,
the
win
will
bring
a
lot
of
smiles
on
the
fans,
who
have
waited
for
the
glory
to
return
to
Lankan
cricket.

As
reported
in
PTI,
officials
said
that
the
Dasun
Shanaka-led
team
will
arrive
on
Tuesday
morning
at
5
am,
and
will
be
welcomed
by
officials
from
Sri
Lanka
Cricket
and
the
Sports
Ministry
at
the
Bandaranaike
International
Airport
in
Colombo.

The
Asia
Cup
winning-team
will
then
participate
in
a
victory
parade
at
6.30
am,
and
will
undertake
a
double-decker
bus
tour
from
Colombo
to
Katunayake
and
interact
with
fans,
officials
stated.

It
was
Super
Sunday
for
Sri
Lanka
as
not
only
did
the
cricketers
pocket
a
historic
title,
the
Lankan
netball
team
also
brought
glory
to
the
country
by
winning
the
2022
Asian
Championships.

Speaking
at
the
post-match
press
conference,
captain
Shanaka
said,
“Believe
in
our
cricketers…a
lot
of
bad
things
are
going
around.
As
cricketers,
they
too
should
enjoy
their
lives
as
well,
not
spreading
bad
things.
They
have
private
lives
too.
Keep
believing,
that
is
the
key.

“As
a
captain,
I
give
confidence
to
the
players,
[whatever]
I
can.
I
can’t
ask
for
more
than
that,”
Shanaka
said,
as
Sri
Lanka’s
unprecedented
economic
crisis
formed
the
backdrop
of
the
cricket
team’s
Asia
Cup
campaign.

“Congratulations
to
the
#lka
cricket
team
on
the
win
against
#Pakistan
in
the
#AsiaCup2022Final
in
Dubai.
The
commitment
and
teamwork
shown
by
the
#SriLankan
team
have
been
remarkable,”
ousted
President
Gotabaya
Rajapaksa,
who
returned
to
Colombo
from
Thailand
on
September
2
tweeted
on
Sunday.

His
successor,
President
Ranil
Wickremesinghe,
praised
the
national
cricket
team
for
winning
the
Asia
Cup
and
underlined
that
it
shows
that
with
dedication
and
determination
crisis-hit
Sri
Lanka
can
overcome
challenges
as
a
nation.
“Congratulations
to
the
Sri
Lankan
cricket
team
on
winning
the
Asia
Cup
2022.
Well
played
Pakistan!

“The
second
championship
for
today,”
he
said,
adding
that
it
“goes
to
show
that,
with
dedication
and
determination
we
can
overcome
challenges
as
a
nation.

Onwards
and
upwards
Sri
Lanka!”
Sri
Lanka,
a
country
of
22
million
people,
declared
in
mid-April
its
international
debt
default
due
to
the
forex
crisis.
A
crippling
shortage
of
foreign
reserves
has
led
to
long
queues
for
fuel,
cooking
gas,
and
other
essentials
while
power
cuts
and
soaring
food
prices
have
heaped
misery
on
the
people.

Source:
(With
inputs
from
PTI)