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Message: <blockquote data-quote="shag105" data-source="post: 21595648" data-attributes="member: 34051">Aravinda de Silva in pensive mood.by Rex ClementineSri Lankan politics is going through a unique period at the moment. The two major parties have formed the government of good governance, but the progress is too slow as they represent entire different political ideologies. The UNP is aligned towards capitalism whereas the SLFP is more towards socialism. When these two ideologies come together, there is little progress. It is extremely difficult to stick to a middle path. Same sentiments can be expressed in our cricket. While the UNP and SLFP came together to keep the Rajapaksas away, two rival factions of our cricket joined hands to keep the Ranatungas at bay.When former captain Aravinda de Silva handed his resignation as Head of Cricket Committee earlier this week, it appeared that one faction was sidelining him. He has got far better things to do rather than spend several hours at cricket headquarters and he would have thought if people were going to keep him in the dark on policy decisions, there was no point in hanging around.There has been some persuasion to ask him to stay put. Hopefully, sanity will prevail and Aravinda will continue to serve our cricket.Aravinda is by far the best Chairman of Selectors we have had in the last decade for the simple reason that he gave in for no one. Given the amount of pressure the selectors face these days, you need his no nonsense approach to succeed.In 2010, soon after the war, there was nothing that was impossible for the Rajapaksa government. They even sent the war winning Army Commander to the jail and impeached the Chief Justice. The only man who said no to them was Aravinda de Silva.With Aravinda streamlining selections for the 2011 World Cup, he received a call from a VIP. It was then Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage. Aravinda was informed that the top brass of the government wanted a certain player selected for the World Cup. Aravinda said ‘no’ point blank. Then there was intense pressure asking him to reconsider his decision.Aravinda eventually simplified things to the Sports Minister."There’s only one way we can do this, Sir," Aravinda said. "Go ahead, tell me how this can be done," Aluthgamage replied. "We can select this player for the World Cup, but then I have to resign."Having hooked and pulled the bouncers of Wasim Akram and Curtly Ambrose with disdain in his hey days, the bouncers of Aluthgamage were a child’s play for the master batsman.Aluthgamage quickly sensed the repercussions he will have to face in the form of public opinion if Aravinda were to step down and soon retracted. Sanity prevailed. Sri Lanka sent the best team for the World Cup and finished runners-up to India.Celebrated American writer Caskie Stinnett once wrote, "A diplomat is a person who can tell you to go to hell in such a way that you actually look forward to the trip." That is exactly what the soft spoken master did in his own inimitable style.Aravinda and his committee comprising – Ranjit Fernando, Amal Silva and Shabbir Asgarali resigned the next day after the World Cup final. So did captain Kumar Sangakkara and deputy Mahela Jayawardene. They weren’t going to settle for the second best. Resignation is a word unheard of in Sri Lankan culture. The likes of Aravinda and Sanga introduced a new culture.Had SLC continued Aravinda’s no nonsense approach, half baked cricketers like Ramitha Rambukwella and Sachith Pathirana would have never represented the country.At present, there is too much of compromise in our cricket.Sri Lankan cricket at the moment is going through a crucial phase. The restructuring has to be done meticulously for the team to return to glory days. Hence, it’s important for all those concerned to set aside differences and work towards the goals.source :<a href="http://island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=164683" target="_blank">http://island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=164683</a></blockquote>

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