Major General VR Silva working out with the Army cricket squad.

“I told the national cricket selectors to take a look at Ajantha Mendis prior to the Australian tour. They were not interested because the Army team was playing in Division ‘B’. I am sure he would have been successful. However on a latter date former Sri Lanka captain and now head of Sri Lanka Cricket Arjuna Ranatunga called and told me that had he been the captain of the Sri Lanka team, he would have taken Mendis to Australia, said” Major General VR Silva who is largely responsible for converting this spin sensation to what he is today.

Speaking to The Sunday Times; the affable Silva who is called the king maker in many circles, recalled how he discovered Mendis. He said; “I was appointed Chairman of Army Cricket some years ago. The then head of the Army was keen that we get back to sports. For some years prior to that we had stopped taking part in any sports due to the ethnic conflict.”

‘At first we managed to get a group of players, but it was very ad hoc. We had no proper place to practice and we were not as competitive as we wanted to be. I knew there was no way any cricketer from a Colombo school was going to join the Army. Thus I put a strategy into place whereby we would scout the less privileged schools. Back in the year 2004 we were playing an under 23 Division Two match against Moratuwa SC.

Ajantha Mendis

That was when I first spotted Mendis. I do not know whether he was the captain or not, but I was impressed by his demeanor on the field. He was giving his best and he was also able to get the best of the players around him. I knew then and there he was the kind of player we were looking for. I also knew with the right training he could be the long term replacement for Muttiah Muralitharan.”
He added; “I sent a message through one of my non commissioned officer’s (NCO) asking Mendis whether he would like to join the Army. Mendis said he would have to ask his mother. This is because what I did not know was that his father had passed away only a week before. After some time I sent another message though one of my soldiers. At first his mother was very reluctant. But finally we managed to convince her.”

Elaborating on how Mendis finally got noticed, Silva said; “Two years ago we got promoted to Division Segment ‘B’. We won all our matches, eight outright and the match against Panadura which was marred by rain we gained a first innings victory. Out of a total of 170 wickets, Mendis got 68 wickets and Seekuge Prasanna an orthodox right arm leg spinner who I will speak about later got 38 wickets. Mendis was picked for the inter-provincial tournament and most of Sri Lanka’s top batsmen could not play him. It was then that he was noticed. Some people called me and wanted me to release Mendis so that he could join a Division One Segment ‘A’ team. I refused. And my decision has paid off. I was told that Mendis would get the nod for the West Indies tour. He did and like they say the rest is history. You see at the Army unlike in clubs, there is a spirit of togetherness. The players go for practice together, come back etc.

They are also physically and mentally tough. I would go so far as to say that man to man each one of our players is fitter than any of the club players. I am not surprised that Mendis has done well in pressure situations, as I said earlier it is one aspect of the game we focus on a lot. I am also delighted at the way he has performed”. Silva added; I have spoken to him about giving interviews. Language is no barrier. Even some of the world’s top leaders use a translator. It is better than speaking in broken English”.

We asked Silva in conclusion about Prasanna, he said “I firmly believe he has the potential to be an opening batsman and a very good leg spinner. With all due respect to the national coaches who have said otherwise I beg to differ. I work with this team day in and day out. Keep in mind I played for Maliyadeva, captained Central Province and played cricket for Army until the late eighties. I also played rugby until a bad knee injury ruled me out. Prasanna has all the shots in the book and the right temperament. His bowling is like that of Shane Warne and he is very deceptive.

This might sound strange to some, but we have about 30 players in our squad. And to each of these players I have identified a slot in the nation team and Sri Lanka’s ‘A’ team. I have told all of them that they should be objective in what they should aspire to. It is too early to speak about other potential stars. But I will say this much. There is a left arm leg spinner we are working with because he has not developed as fast as we expected him. As for Army we did not fare too well last year. We are now playing in Division One Segment ‘A’. Let’s just see how we fare this year.”