Mahela urges and encourages for records to be renewed
Mahela Jayawardena being presented with a memento by the SSC officials - Pix by M.A. Pushpakumara
An icon of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and ex-captain Mahela Jayawardena moments after being hailed and honoured by his club, the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC), for the ICC Hall of Fame feat urged on the current and next crop cricketers to better and beat the records set by past cricketers.
Mahela, only the third Sri Lankan to be inducted to the prestigious ICC Hall of Fame, which coincided with the yesteryear’s ICC WT20, became the third such islander to engrave his name in that elite, exemplary and exclusive club.
“Young cricketers, who are going to one day represent Sri Lanka and to do better than what we have all done is what we all want to happen. That all these records whatever we have achieved should be broken and then only we know, Sri Lanka has evolved and gone beyond what we’ve expected,” he urged in his message to the star-studded gathering, at a private and a closed ceremony – SSC Salutes Mahela – at the SSC lounge on Thursday (17), the same venue he plundered 374-runs.
“Only then, truly, all the hard work the clubs and establishments have put in has worked”, Mahela, 44, asserted.
The successful and sought-after coach winning three IPL trophies with Mumbai Indians and one with Southern Brave from The Hundred was paid a glowing tribute.
“Playing for SSC was the best thing to happen to me”, Mahela returned the compliments to the club, where he owns a record of most test centuries in a single venue (11).
Reminiscing and talking through the tales, he said once, in his primitive part, after getting out he was so afraid of returning to the dressing room, comprising then-captain Arjuna Ranatunga, he remained in the staircase of fear.
“In tears, I sat down at the bottom of the staircase and then I literally stayed there. Because, I was so scared to go back to the dressing room. The match finished, the opposition was walking past the dressing room and I’m still down there,” he said, wearing a smile.
Some remarks had come his way from Sanath Jayasuriya and Roshan Mahanama and all of them. Marvan Atapattu had come to the scene, cheered him up and took him in.
“That was a good lesson. It said nothing is finished, you’re supposed to remain not out at the end but you just threw it away. So those are the lessons you learnt playing in such a dressing room”.
Aravinda De Silva, with whom Mahela works in the Technical Advisory Committee as a consultant coach, had left him in a state of speechlessness the first time they met. It only became unbelievable, when he met his favourite cricketer.
“Brings back a lot of memories and I was speechless. The knowledge he had about the game and all that. We all grew up watching different, different cricketers. But if I would pick one guy, it would be – Aravinda. Just for his batting, the way he went about scoring runs and 1996 World Cup-winning hundred was a masterclass and learnt quite a bit. So, if I’m to pick one guy, it is him,”
One hardly-known shady moment in his stellar career was when he ran into a controversy.
“It was a bit of a controversial one with Lakbima, when I made my debut. We never had bat manufacturers in Sri Lanka, so it was commercial logos the ICC had allowed at that time. So that is how we all started. Later I had my bat manufacturer, the luxury of life. The first time, the guy called me and asked, ‘how do you want your bat made’?
It is then, realisation had struck him that he had already traversed the distance to be offered the design of the bat. So then he knew, he has come a long way in cricket.
A little-known fact is that Mahela, during the time he was becoming the bashing batter he is, had also a decade-long stint for Seylan Bank at the Borella branch.
“While I was filling up forms for people, I was signing autographs as well”, said man-of-the-moment, Mahela.
“Coming for practices in the morning, going back to work for six-hours and coming back again for afternoon sessions. I think everyone has gone through that. Lot of the SSC players who have played and playing have all had a second job. Probably one of the best places to work, learn and grow,”
Touching outside the game, despite being a globetrotter, his heart still lies here at home for food and travelling, though his long-time bosom of pal, Kumar Sangakkara, also present at the event, and a fellow of Hall of Famer, had been pushing him to venture into wildlife.
Mahela had been a staunch Manchester United supporter for years, and the audience broke into fits of laughter, when his ex-teammate Jehan Mubarak, the host of a Q&A session, queried as to when United would regain the shield.
“Definitely, not this season”, he said laughingly. “Soon as we find a good manager, yes, we will”.
“Like I said I was a sports buff growing up. Love my football and gold. I watch pretty much everything – tennis to American football to basketball”.
Mahela, owner of numerous records, holds yet another record for the most bowler-fielder catching in tests, shared with Muttiah Muralitharan (77 catches), whom he said, was the most annoying player in the dressing room.
Murali had been a batsman’s nightmare in the dressing room. Whenever they got out, especially to a spinner, he would be the first to approach and start nagging on the shot selection. But he also praised the spin wizard as a fantastic player.
Mahela, in his majestic career spanning for nearly two decades, intends to give back to the game, which had bestowed all this “fame” and name.
“The biggest thing for me is to try and contribute back to the game which has given me all this. So, whichever I can and to give back to the next generation and enjoy watching,” revealed a stalwart of SLC and SSC, on how he intends to bat in his next phase of life.