5th Column

My dear Shammi,

I thought of writing to you when I heard that you had been elected to the big chair in the organisation that runs cricket in Paradise. To be honest, this came as a surprise, what with so many court cases and controversies clouding the election until the end. Still, what can we say except ‘congratulations’!

I know that you are not the most well-known person among our cricket administrators and many people are asking ‘Shammi who?’ After all, for many years it was the ‘Dasas’ and the ‘Palas’ who ran the show with a de Silva only being used when they couldn’t run the race for some reason or another.

Although Pala was a few years junior to you and you went to the same school and played for the same club, he became your Master. There is little doubt that you are His Master’s Voice when it comes to making decisions regarding cricket and you will always do his bidding. Why, you even look like him!

I hope you realise, Shammi, that for those in Paradise, cricket is more than a mere game. It is probably the only activity we are good at at an international level, which is why we were once crowned world champions. It is also one of the few things we do together as a nation, forgetting all our other differences.

You will recall that in the dark days of the war with the Tigers in the North, it was cricket that brought a smile to those in Paradise. That was because our boys kept winning their matches against the best teams – and it didn’t matter whether it was Mahela, Murali or Maharoof who was the match winner.

Unfortunately, our cricket has now descended to unprecedented depths. We can only boast about the glorious days of the 1996 World Cup after losing series after series, just as much as we hark back to our proud heritage of 2,500 years instead of moving forward as a nation.

We have been reduced to a state where many cricketers – including some famous master blasters – have been implicated in match fixing, cricketers’ wives are at each other’s throats on social media, and cricketers are filmed saying they won a match for their coach – and not for the sake of their country!

I hope you realise that for the vast majority of those in Paradise, we couldn’t care less whether it is a ‘Pala’ or ‘Dasa’ or ‘Silva’ who is in charge of our cricket. We just want a clean and transparent set of officials who do not interfere with selections and elections and will keep everything above board.

As you are aware, that has not happened recently, particularly in the years when your Master was in charge. Television deals, the awarding of contracts, having too many clubs in the system so that they could vote for your Master at the elections are all symptoms of the malady that affects our cricket.

That is why so many of our past cricketers from Sidath and Arjuna, to recent legends such as Mahela, Kumar and Murali have spoken out against how cricket was being run under your Master’s iron fist. That is also probably why our cricket is where it is today, Shammi.

How will you rectify this, when you are His Master’s Voice and a mere puppet in his hands, is what everyone is asking. They also ask what all the hullabaloo was about holding fresh elections under strict guidelines, if the outcome was to install the same set of officials in slightly different positions.

The election of the current set of officials to run cricket in Paradise reminds me of the constitutional crisis late last year. That was when Aiyo Sirisena – helped by your Master – ousted the Green Man and installed Mahinda maama in office – until the Green Man was restored to office by a court order.

After his triumphant return, the Green Man declared that he would make a fresh start, and we eagerly awaited some new faces in the Cabinet, but all we got was the same faces in new positions. What has happened in cricket is very similar – except that you are now its nominal head – not your Master, ‘Pala’.

Is it a wonder then that the cricket-loving public have lost faith in how the game is being run in Paradise? We wish you well, Shammi, but hoping that you will return us to our former glory in cricket is like wishing that Aiyo Sirisena will restore democracy and ‘yahapaalanaya’. Need I say more?

Yours truly,

Punchi Putha

PS: I worry about your name too because whenever a Silva is prominent anywhere, a scandal usually follows. We know what happened with Mervyn and Duminda when they entered Parliament. Sarath, when he was elevated to the top job in the judiciary also ran amok. Will you do the same, Shammi?