Lankan monks protest against ICC`s blunder during CT opener

A Buddhist monk nationalist group staged a demonstration in front of Sri Lanka Cricket headquarters in protest against an ICC faux pas during the opening ceremony of the Champions Trophy.

Colombo: Ravana Balaya (Ravana Force), a Buddhist monk nationalist group, on Monday staged a demonstration in front of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) headquarters here in protest against an ICC faux pas during the opening ceremony of the Champions Trophy in Cardiff.

The group blamed the SLC for its inability to lodge a complaint to the ICC for playing a Hindi song in place of Sri Lanka`s national at the Champions Trophy opening ceremony last week. "This is a betrayal of the nation. The SLC must explain why a Hindi song was played in place of our national anthem," Venerable Ittakande Saddhatissa of the Ravana Balaya said. Acting CEO of SLC, Ashley de Silva told the monks that the ICC had already extended an apology to Sri Lanka. The same Ravana Balaya had earlier warned IPL-bound Sri Lankan players that they would be subjected to rotten eggs at the Colombo airport following their return from India. They were angered by the players` participation at IPL 6 despite a ban imposed on Sri Lankan players` participation in Chennai by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, J Jayalalithaa. PTI