My dear Sanath,
I thought I must write and congratulate you when I heard you have been selected for the national cricket team once again to play against England-and that too just a few days short of your forty second birthday!
Of course, it was said that you got this chance because the captain has fractured his hand and his opening partner is involved in a controversy over taking a drug he is not supposed to take, but what matters most now is that you have got the chance for one last hurrah, isn’t it?
However, I must admit Sanath you had all of us confused for a while. Amidst all the rumours of a comeback, there you were, saying you were as fit as a fiddle, your body was like that of an eighteen year old and your only ambition was to play for Sri Lanka, and we all thought you were going to be around for at least a few years more!
But then, lo and behold, you announce only a day later that you are retiring from international cricket after just two games in England. It just doesn’t add up, does it, Sanath?
What I meant to say was that if the selectors really thought you were good enough to be included in the team purely on merit and you too wanted to serve your country to the best of your ability, then you should have played in all the games against England, instead of just playing one or two for the sake of having a final curtain call.
After all, the team is now short of their two regular opening batsmen and what better chance than this to step into their shoes and play for the sake of your country? And if you did play all five games you could have even had a proper opportunity to prove to the world that you are as fit as you claim and not over the hill even though you are forty two!
So, when you suddenly say you would be calling it quits when you finally receive the call you had been waiting for two long years, tongues start wagging and the rumour mill gets to work, doesn’t it, Sanath? Why, some are even suggesting you were given the luxury of a farewell appearance just because you are a garu manthrithuma now!
You know, Sanath, our fondest memories of you are those in your prime, decimating bowlers of most countries with your blistering batting and together with little Kalu, redefining the concept of opening the innings in limited over cricket.
Those were the days when offices all over the country stopped work and traffic ground to a halt when you walked out to bat and perhaps the high point was winning the World Cup fifteen years ago. Even after that you continued to thrill us with your daring deeds mostly with the bat, and sometimes with the ball too and we are indeed grateful for that.
It is only lately that people began to grumble about you, saying you were overstaying your welcome and was in fact lingering on until they asked you why you weren’t leaving instead of retiring at a time when people would have asked you why you were leaving…
Why, there was that time when Mahinda maama, in addition to all the work he has to do as the big boss, had to intervene in the selection of our cricket team to order your inclusion in the team and put you on a plane to Australia. You didn’t let him down though, scoring a century and winning the match for us but I suppose it is the principle that mattered and not everyone in the cricket team has the luxury of calling up Mahinda and crying about being dropped!
And that is why there were so many people grumbling about you playing on for longer than what they thought you should, especially even after you decided to become a garu manthrithuma. As you well know Sanath, when politics begins to interfere with anything else in our country, then everything and everyone becomes suspect, because decisions are taken depending on whether you are blue, green or red and not on your own merits.
Nevertheless, we are grateful to you for twenty years of entertainment of a previously unparalleled nature. I suppose we should also be thankful that no one has been able to implicate you in scandals like match fixing and failing drug tests, so you could be justifiably proud of that too.
So, farewell, Sanath. We wish you the best of luck in your efforts as a garu manthrithuma but believe me, you would be very lucky to have a fraction of the success you had in the cricket field as a politician in this country. And if you doubt that, just ask Arjuna, will you?
Yours sincerely,
Punchi Putha
PS-Now that they have recalled you after you had virtually retired from the game, do you know who would be the happiest of them all? Why, it is our former Police Chief, the other Mahinda, who must be dreaming of a recall too. Ah, hope springs eternal, doesn’t it?
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