SB and Dilan no-ball journalists to protect Sumathipala

Journalists who tried to pose questions on cricket to ‘The Group of 16’ MP Thilanga Sumathipala at a media briefing on Friday were prevented from doing so by fellow parliamentarians Dilan Perera and S.B. Dissanayake. They were acting as censors. Mr Perera objected vehemently to any questions on cricket being asked from Mr Sumathipala, warning journalists that they ‘should not connect politics to cricket.’

Mr Perera’s warning is ironic given that Mr. Sumathipala is the former President of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), former Deputy Speaker of Parliament and current MP in ‘The Group of 16’ now supporting the Joint Opposition. Having also indicated that he intends to contest the next SLC election, Mr Sumathipala is the living embodiment of politics connected to cricket.

Journalists would also have wanted to question Mr Sumathipala after he again publicly brought up match-fixing allegations dating back to the 1990s. These charges were against Cricket World Cup winners Arjuna Ranatunga and Aravinda de Silva. This led to Mr. Ranatunga, now Minister of Petroleum Resources Development, and Aravinda de Silva holding a media conferenc to strongly refute the allegations.

Parliamentarians Perera and Dissanayake objected to the questions on the grounds that their media briefing had been convened to discuss politics, most notably, their insistence that former President Mahinda Rajapaksa should be sworn in as Prime Minister before the next National New Year in April. Though journalists pointed out that the topic was now finished and asked they be allowed to pose some questions to Mr Sumathipala on sports, the request was denied.

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