Colombo: A majority of the illustrious former cricketers from Sri Lanka, spoken to by The Hindu, were critical of South Africa's decision to pull out of the Unitech tri-series.

The CEO of Sri Lanka Cricket and former Lanka captain Duleep Mendis said South Africans decided to withdraw despite presidential-level security put in place for them by the government. Expressing astonishment over the South African decision, he came down heavily on the security firm employed by the ICC. "They prepared their report sitting in Dubai. I did not see any of them in Colombo."

Former Sri Lanka captain Anura Tennekoon said, "The issue, I feel, has been blown out of proportion. You see one of the visiting teams, India, has no problems with security. Why should it be any different for South Africa? The South Asia Games are being held in Colombo too."

Over-reaction

Tennekoon, one of the Lankan batting greats felt, "the South Africans had over-reacted." He said, "They had played a two-Test series here and there were no issues regarding their safety. He added, "the bomb explosion was basically a one-off incident."

Arjuna Ranatunga, among the most influential captains in cricket history, said, "These teams do tend to make too much out of any such incident in the sub-continent. Actually these things are happening in all parts of the world. That is today's reality."

He also believed the Lankan Board could have handled the situation better. "The government should have been brought into the picture more. I don't know whether this was the case. We faced a similar problem during my days as captain when New Zealand wanted to go back. The government and the board worked together then to ensure that New Zealand stayed. The players who wanted to leave were given the option to do so. But they were replaced by the cricketers flying in and the tour went on."

Perspectives differ

Elegant opening batsman of the days gone by, Siddath Wettimuny, said, "from our perspective, it does look as if the South Africans over-reacted. They were offered top security. It is also a fact that sporting events or sportspersons have never been targetted in such attacks here."

Wettimuny, however, added, "You see perspectives differ, and in end, who are we to say how the other mind would work. These countries are paranoid about such incidents of violence."

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