Organizers of the upcoming Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, have announced that five-star hotel accommodation will not be available for cricket teams, including Sri Lanka and India, due to limited availability of high-end hotels in the city.
Although accommodation could have been arranged in Tokyo or Osaka, organizers opted to house the teams in Nagoya for their convenience. Traveling from either city to the match venue by high-speed bullet train would take around one and a half hours.
The decision initially raised concerns, as five-star accommodation is generally provided to teams during international cricket tours. However, Eran Wickramaratne, Chairman of the Sri Lanka Cricket Transformation Committee, said the accommodation arrangements for the Sri Lankan team had been successfully resolved following discussions with the Asian Cricket Council.
BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla also said photographs and video footage showed that the accommodation, although it may not meet five-star standards, was comfortable and suitable for the players.
Shukla emphasized that greater attention should be placed on the playing conditions and sporting facilities rather than hotel standards.
An Asian Cricket Council delegation has already visited Japan to inspect the match venue. The delegation confirmed that the newly constructed hybrid pitch, installed at a baseball ground with technical assistance from officials at Sri Lanka’s Pallekele Stadium, is suitable for cricket.
Sri Lanka has directly qualified for the quarter-finals of the cricket tournament, which begins in Nagoya on the 24th of this month. The Sri Lankan team is scheduled to play its first match on the 29th.
