අපේ cricketකන ගොන්ග් යක්කු සහ පොන්න පොලිට්ක්ක
FYI: Nodaking.....
Nawalapitiya Chandiya stands humbled
April 22, 2011, 12:00 pm
‘Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first.’ Ronald Reagan the 40th President of the United States.
Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage addressing the media a week ago to announce the national selection committee gave an assurance that Sri Lanka’s IPL bound players would be recalled by the 5th of May and that he would take tough actions against any player who did not comply.
He also reiterated that Sri Lanka had been the losing finalists in two successive World Cups and next time he would make sure it wouldn’t be the case and it is the time to work towards resurrecting Sri Lankan cricket.
The Minister or the government doesn’t have to do anything to ensure the well being of Sri Lankan cricket. All that they have got to do is to stop poking their fingers into the affairs of cricket administration and avoid appointing their lackeys and cronies to top positions of the Cricket Interim Committee.
Following Aluthgamage’s bold statement we were hoping that finally we had got a Minister capable of putting the game on the right track. Within days, however, we were proved wrong. We should have known better than to pin our hopes on Aluthgamage.
The Sports Minister now blames the Cricket Interim Committee for providing the players with No Objection Certificates (NOC) to participate in the IPL without setting a timeframe for return to prepare for the England series. We feel the Sports Minister has completely missed the point here.
After assuming duties as Minister of Sports one of the first things he did was to pack the Cricket Interim Committee with his old school buddies (Esahana de Silva and Sarinda Unamboowe). During a recent media briefing he defended his colleagues stating that he had great faith in them and that was why he had appointed them to the Interim Committee. The efficiency of his colleagues has been now exposed as they even do not know that Sri Lanka’s tour of England starts on the 10th of May, halfway through the IPL.
We suspect that the provision of the NOCs without a deadline must have been yet another trick of some members of the Interim Committee. Nishantha Ranatunga, its Secretary, is quite au fait with the loopholes in the cricket administration and he might even teach the BCCI how to manipulate the situation.
We have always wondered whether Ranatunga represents the interests of Sri Lankan cricket or those of BCCI. For him to survive in the cricket administration he requires local political patronage and to climb the cricket administration ladder he needs the support of BCCI. The reason for the omission of a date of return in the NOC could be due to two reasons. Either Mr. Ranatunga is inefficient or he is not being honest.
Minister Aluthgamage also has stated that former Sports Minister Gamini Lokuge entered into an agreement with the BCCI in 2009. The Minister needed to be reminded here that Lokuge didn’t represent a different government at that time. As for the agreement, it is null and void simply for two reasons. To start with there’s no written agreement between SLC and BCCI and then on the part of India there has been
a breach of agreement. When Lokuge agreed to permit Sri Lankan players for ten years to represent the IPL, India promised to pay SLC 4.5 million USD per year running into 45 million US$. As of now, BCCI has not paid a single cent as verbally agreed upon. So Lokuge’s agreement doesn’t stand.
Players can’t be absolved of blame either. When they requested No Object Certificates, they knew they had a tour of England and preparation for the series was vital. But for them the money from IPL was too big to ignore. No one even bothered to remind the franchises that sought their services that there was a national commitment and they would only be available for a certain part of the IPL. Another point of argument is Charlie Austin may have drawn up the plan to catch the SLC off-guard. Given his track record, tackling a corrupt outfit is only a child’s play.
We are aware that when Minister Aluthgamage decided to recall the players by the 5th of May, he had the blessings of his political bosses. His u turn has stunned many. We learn that a young (but influential) ruling party politician along with a former fast bowler, contracted by SLC as a fitness trainer, travelled to Delhi a few days ago to strike a ‘deal’ and promised BCCI to release the players.
We also would like to reiterate that the IPL, other than helping Sri Lankan players financially, has not done anything to develop them. What it has developed is Indian cricket as young Indian cricketers get enough exposure and a chance to play with the world’s best cricketers. Recently, off-spin great Muttiah Muralitharan said that India had won the World Cup due to the IPL. Hasn’t it occurred to the Sri Lankan government and SLC that India will effectively defend their title down under in four years with the help of IPL.
Will the Minister of Sports at least now call for the resignation of D.S. de Silva and Nishantha Ranatunga? These two gentlemen blunder time and again.
Now that the Minister has not been able to deliver what he promised, why doesn’t he seriously consider doing a Sanga or in other words RESIGN!
FYI: Nodaking.....
Nawalapitiya Chandiya stands humbled
April 22, 2011, 12:00 pm
‘Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first.’ Ronald Reagan the 40th President of the United States.
Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage addressing the media a week ago to announce the national selection committee gave an assurance that Sri Lanka’s IPL bound players would be recalled by the 5th of May and that he would take tough actions against any player who did not comply.
He also reiterated that Sri Lanka had been the losing finalists in two successive World Cups and next time he would make sure it wouldn’t be the case and it is the time to work towards resurrecting Sri Lankan cricket.
The Minister or the government doesn’t have to do anything to ensure the well being of Sri Lankan cricket. All that they have got to do is to stop poking their fingers into the affairs of cricket administration and avoid appointing their lackeys and cronies to top positions of the Cricket Interim Committee.
Following Aluthgamage’s bold statement we were hoping that finally we had got a Minister capable of putting the game on the right track. Within days, however, we were proved wrong. We should have known better than to pin our hopes on Aluthgamage.
The Sports Minister now blames the Cricket Interim Committee for providing the players with No Objection Certificates (NOC) to participate in the IPL without setting a timeframe for return to prepare for the England series. We feel the Sports Minister has completely missed the point here.
After assuming duties as Minister of Sports one of the first things he did was to pack the Cricket Interim Committee with his old school buddies (Esahana de Silva and Sarinda Unamboowe). During a recent media briefing he defended his colleagues stating that he had great faith in them and that was why he had appointed them to the Interim Committee. The efficiency of his colleagues has been now exposed as they even do not know that Sri Lanka’s tour of England starts on the 10th of May, halfway through the IPL.
We suspect that the provision of the NOCs without a deadline must have been yet another trick of some members of the Interim Committee. Nishantha Ranatunga, its Secretary, is quite au fait with the loopholes in the cricket administration and he might even teach the BCCI how to manipulate the situation.
We have always wondered whether Ranatunga represents the interests of Sri Lankan cricket or those of BCCI. For him to survive in the cricket administration he requires local political patronage and to climb the cricket administration ladder he needs the support of BCCI. The reason for the omission of a date of return in the NOC could be due to two reasons. Either Mr. Ranatunga is inefficient or he is not being honest.
Minister Aluthgamage also has stated that former Sports Minister Gamini Lokuge entered into an agreement with the BCCI in 2009. The Minister needed to be reminded here that Lokuge didn’t represent a different government at that time. As for the agreement, it is null and void simply for two reasons. To start with there’s no written agreement between SLC and BCCI and then on the part of India there has been
a breach of agreement. When Lokuge agreed to permit Sri Lankan players for ten years to represent the IPL, India promised to pay SLC 4.5 million USD per year running into 45 million US$. As of now, BCCI has not paid a single cent as verbally agreed upon. So Lokuge’s agreement doesn’t stand.
Players can’t be absolved of blame either. When they requested No Object Certificates, they knew they had a tour of England and preparation for the series was vital. But for them the money from IPL was too big to ignore. No one even bothered to remind the franchises that sought their services that there was a national commitment and they would only be available for a certain part of the IPL. Another point of argument is Charlie Austin may have drawn up the plan to catch the SLC off-guard. Given his track record, tackling a corrupt outfit is only a child’s play.
We are aware that when Minister Aluthgamage decided to recall the players by the 5th of May, he had the blessings of his political bosses. His u turn has stunned many. We learn that a young (but influential) ruling party politician along with a former fast bowler, contracted by SLC as a fitness trainer, travelled to Delhi a few days ago to strike a ‘deal’ and promised BCCI to release the players.
We also would like to reiterate that the IPL, other than helping Sri Lankan players financially, has not done anything to develop them. What it has developed is Indian cricket as young Indian cricketers get enough exposure and a chance to play with the world’s best cricketers. Recently, off-spin great Muttiah Muralitharan said that India had won the World Cup due to the IPL. Hasn’t it occurred to the Sri Lankan government and SLC that India will effectively defend their title down under in four years with the help of IPL.
Will the Minister of Sports at least now call for the resignation of D.S. de Silva and Nishantha Ranatunga? These two gentlemen blunder time and again.
Now that the Minister has not been able to deliver what he promised, why doesn’t he seriously consider doing a Sanga or in other words RESIGN!
