From Test opener to umpiring
Tharanga Paranavitana
Short of just 60 to his dream of 15,000 First Class runs, former Sri Lanka Test opener Tharanga Paranavitana announced his retirement from all forms of cricket, despite having the ability to pursue his goal.
Slightly disheartened by the fact of being labelled a ‘Test’ player, Paranavitana voiced out for an open policy, where cricketers could potentially display their true capability, stating that officials should ‘be more broadminded when looking at players and their uniqueness as individuals’.
“I came from the outstations and had the privilege to play for the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) straight from my school, St. Mary’s College of Kegalle. When I joined SSC did not have a dorm for players from outstations and I was the first to get such facility. I remained there for 15 years before moving to Tamil Union five years ago,” recalling his journey, Paranavitana told reporters.
Having a natural obsession for cricket and its statistics, Paranavitana had set a dream as a youngster to achieve 15,000 First Class runs if he ever gets the opportunity to play at the top level. Not only did he appear in 222 First Class matches since 2001 as a 19-year-old youngster, but turned out for Sri Lanka in 32 Tests accumulating 1792 runs with two centuries and 11 half centuries.
Paranavitana’s debut in Tests was against Pakistan in 2009, where Sri Lanka became the only cricket team to come under a terrorist attack, in Lahore. After a journey of 20 years, on Friday, Paranavitana gracefully retired as a 38-year-old veteran with 14,940 First Class runs, needing just 60 runs to realise his dream while still having the ability to continue a season or two.
“I usually take time to settle in and always aim at going for bigger innings. I’m glad that I was able to play 32 Tests for the country, but had I got the opportunity to continue I would have been a different player. Usually players, mainly batsmen, mature in their early 30s and become formidable, but I was out of the team, trying my luck to get back into it. After a few years, I understood that my days as a Test player is now over and I focused on my goal. But the last couple of seasons I realised that I’m losing touch and decided if I don’t get to the goal this season it’s the end of the road for me. When I got out for 18 in my last match I knew it was the last time I would ever walk out as a player,” he added with self esteem.
The southpaw, who made his career-best of 236 for the SSC during 2007/08, however dismissed the fact that he was only meant for the Tests, and recalled that he had scored 4620 runs in 130 List ‘A’ matches with eight centuries and 30 fifties.
“It’s not right when you are compared with others’ abilities and branded to a specialised sector. If you are a cricketer, a batsman you should be able to perform equally at any format. My statistics do say that I had justified my cricket career personally, others do not think so,” he replied when asked on why he did not focus more on the shorter versions.
Paranavitana, a Level II coach, is now focusing a career in umpiring and hopes to become the third Test player from Sri Lanka to officiate matches next to Asoka de Silva and Kumar Dharmasena. He is now fully gearing up for his afterlife as a cricketer who silently served the game, making Sri Lanka’s domestic games more competitive as an opener.