Sports Minister Harin Fernando today held meetings with Lasith Malinga and Angelo Mathews, two senior players of the Sri Lankan cricket team. 

"Met Lasith and Angelo to discuss with them about the current situation of the cricket team. Hoping to meet other players soon," Fernando tweeted this morning. 

The Minister also said he would meet Sri Lankan all-rounder Thisara Perera upon the latter's return from Bangladesh.

Perera wrote to Sri Lanka Cricket CEO Ashley de Silva against slanderous Facebook comments made by Tanya Perera, the wife of ODI captain Lasith Malinga. Tanya Perera, in several Facebook comments, had indicated that Thisara Perera went behind top-level sports authorities to secure his place in the team.

The all-rounder urged the Sri Lankan cricket authorities to intervene in rectifying the situation as it is a "needless distraction". 

However, Fernando's gesture elicited mixed reactions from commentators and cricket lovers. 

"New Sri Lankan Sports Minister doing exactly what every previous sports minister has done- make big, showy crisis-management moves, despite being hugely unqualified to do so. Don't care which party you're from, a minister's only priority should be to legislate themselves out of the game," Cricket writer Andrew Fidel Fernando tweeted commenting on the Minister's meetings with national cricketers. 

"If you want to make a genuine change as a Sports Minister, you can a) bring change to SL constitution so election process is overhauled, or b) amend Sports Law so you’re no longer the last word on team selections. Rest is හිසරදයට කොට්ටේ මාරුකරනවා (changing pillows for a headache)" he added.