Was the Colts issue a non-starter?
Well known cricket administrator K. Mathivanan who resigned from the post of Vice President of Sri Lanka cricket and also withdrew from the race to the presidency of Colombo Colts Cricket Club says that he is done with the game of cricket and will never return.
A disappointed Mathivanan told the Sunday Times, “I am a man who likes to work and in the past it is I who handled matters pertaining to cricket at the SLC. Now my role there has been reduced to nothing. So there is no point in my occupation of that position. That is why I resigned from the post of Vice president of Sri Lanka cricket.”
When asked why he withdrew from the race to the Colts president, thus paving the way for Nishantha Ranatunga, to win uncontested, Mathivanan now says there was no undue pressure behind his decision to step down and it was all owing to personal reasons. Then when the Sunday Times asked him whether he pulled out because of a certain phone call from a VVIP, he denied that he received any telephone calls from any VVIP.
K. Mathivanan (centre) is seen here along with former SLC President Upali Dharmadasa and Nishantha Ranatunga at a SLC function on earlier occasion – File Photo
Earlier, Mathivanan a businessman was quoted in daily newspapers as saying there was a’mafia’ running the SLC and that he was under pressure not to contest the Colts presidency after twelve years at the helm.
Speaking on the Colts issue, SLC’s secretary and newly elected Colombo Colts CC President Nishantha Ranatunga said that he decided to contest the president on the invitation of the cricket playing section of Colts cricket club.
Ranatunga said: “Mathivanan has been the President of Colts for the past twelve years while I have served the club as vice president for the same length of time. However, it is also on record that Mathivanan at the last AGM thanked the membership for the support they had given him and stated that he did not intend continuing in this position and proposed the name of one Rohantha Fonseka who was a non-cricket playing member and a person who had been in the club for only four years.
“However when it came to this AGM, the cricket playing fraternity of the club wanted me to take over as president and the members who backed me were past cricket captains of the club like — Carlton Bernadus who is my secretary of the club, Chaminda Mendis, Chaminda Vaas, Hemantha Devapriya, Jeewantha Kulatunga, Angelo Mathews and a past captain of the women’s team”. Ranatunga said he did not put any pressure on Mathivanan. “The person who said would not contest this year, wanted to come in again when he knew that I had forwarded my nomination for the post of the President, but the cricket playing membership of the Club wanted me to take over,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mathivanan also sent us the flowing statement:
There have been reports in the media lately that I have been forced to resign from the Sri Lanka Cricket and also to withdraw from contesting the presidency of the Colts Cricket Club. Some other reports say that I resigned after receiving a call too.
All these reports are absolutely false.
I decided to resign from the Sri Lanka Cricket because I felt I have not got due recognition within the SLC structure in line with my position.
This also led me to make a decision to break any association with Cricket in Sri Lanka as such I decided to withdraw from contesting for the Colts Club Presidency.
Nishantha Ranatunga was thereby elected uncontested as President of Colts Club which once had eminent presidents such as D.W.L. Lieversz (Snr.), Tita Nathanielsz and Gamini Goonasena (Jnr).
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