Sri Lankan cricket team get heroes' welcome back home

COLOMBO, Sept 13 (Agencies): Battered by the ongoing economic crisis, Sri Lankans gathered on the streets to welcome the Asia Cup-winning cricket team, who were paraded from the airport to capital Colombo on Tuesday.
People flocked to the airport on Tuesday morning to welcome cricket captain Dasun Shanaka and his team, which lifted its sixth Asia Cup defeating Pakistan by 23 runs at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, UAE on Sunday.
Sri Lankan cricket team received a hero's welcome after the players and the support staff arrived in the home country.
The Asia Cup 2022, which was set to take place in Sri Lanka, was shifted to the UAE due to the ongoing economic crisis in the country.
Sri Lanka remained the hosts but the tournament was held in the UAE. However, the Islanders made it sure that the trophy came back to Sri Lanka as they went on to win their sixth Asia Cup title owing to five consecutive wins.
"This is a victory for the entire country. With what we did, if we could bring smiles to the people of this country that is a great victory for us," Bhanuka Rajapaksa who scored an unbeaten 71 and won the 'Player of the Match' award, said as he came out of the Bandaranaike International Airport.
"As a country, the world is looking at us in a different way right now," Rajapaksa said, referring to the economic struggles Sri Lanka is going through.
"For years, we could not reach anywhere close to the title. However, cricket fans did not lose faith in us. We faced some tough challenges (in the competition), and now we want to continue the success at the (T20) World Cup in Australia," said Bhanuka.
Sri Lanka, despite the Asia Cup win will play in the qualifiers of the T20 World Cup 2022 last year, after failing to be in the top 8 by the cut-off date in ICC rankings.