My Dear Mahela,
I thought I must write to you when I heard that you have been appointed as captain of our cricket team — again — but then, I am not sure whether I should congratulate you or sympathise with you!
You have already made your mark, having led Sri Lanka to a World Cup final and having scored over ten thousand runs in test cricket, so we understand that you have nothing to prove and that you are doing this because there appears to be no one else to take on the job.
Of course we are relieved that you are assuming this responsibility because the performance of our cricket team has been nothing short of disastrous in recent times, even if we managed to win a test match in South Africa for the first time.
We do also feel for your predecessor, Dilshan. We know that he has performed in every role he has been asked to-batsman, bowler, wicket-keeper, brilliant fielder and captain — but unfortunately, captaincy seems to be one task that he is not cut out for.
I was thinking whether I should sympathise with you not because I don’t have confidence in you, Mahela, but because you would have to work with Mahindananda maama and Sri Lanka Cricket and a new set of selectors.
Now, Mahindananda maama is the type of person who will keep a straight face and say that Sri Lanka Cricket doesn’t have any financial problems even when it doesn’t have enough money to pay its players. At this rate, he may even say that we won the series in South Africa!
Mahindananda maama is also the type of person who complains about Kumar making a brilliant speech at Lord’s, pointing out what is wrong with Sri Lanka’s cricket. Of course, Mahindananda maama’s idea of brilliance is to announce the sacking of the captain, selectors and the coach of the cricket team, while the team is still playing a series in South Africa and I am sure he will say his decision was the right one because we won the last two one-day internationals after he announced his decision!
What was most intriguing about Mahindananda maama’s decision was sacking the coach — a man who trained the Australian team to become world champions-after just a few months on the job. That should inspire a lot of confidence among potential candidates for the position and I suppose, if we find that no reputed coach wants to train Sri Lanka anymore, we can ask Mahindananda maama himself to take on that job as well!
One other reason why I thought I should sympathise with you, Mahela is because you would also have to work with Sri Lanka Cricket. It is true that the interim committees have now been replaced with a more ‘permanent’ committee, but we hear that one of your former team mates who is now in Parliament is the man making most of the decisions.
We would like to remember this Sana Boy as a dashing batsman who single-handedly won many matches for us but unfortunately he has now transformed into a monster who wants to control everything about cricket in Sri Lanka. You would no doubt run in to him in your job as captain but in a worst case scenario, I am sure he will help you out by coming out of retirement and playing a few matches for you — after all, we all remember how he hung on to his spot in the team well after he should have been dropped!
Then, Mahela, the other reason why I want to sympathise with you is because you would have to work with a new set of selectors as well. I know we call them a ‘new’ set of selectors but isn’t it headed by someone who is well known for hedging his bets? This is the same man that Marvan called a ‘joker’ heading a team of Muppets, so I guess we will be in for some entertainment.
So, I wish you all the best, Mahela. We know you have overcome greater hurdles and we also know that you have been a thorough gentleman in a game that is being increasingly manipulated-at least in our country — by unscrupulous politicians and businessmen. So far, you have not become one of them and we hope that at least some of you will remain that way. Yours is a crown of thorns but then, I am sure you will have the courage to wear it with dignity and distinction.
Yours truly,
Punchi Putha
PS: I just heard you saying that you will take this job for one year and no more. That is a wonderful announcement and I only wish that we could have a rule where everyone has to give up his job after one year. If only people like Mahindananda maama thought the same way!
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