Sports Minister hopeful that Kumar will reconsider retirement

Sports Minister Navin Dissanayake on the sidelines of a briefing with media today said he had pleaded with former cricket captain Kumar Sangakkara to reconsider his retirement atleast for another year. Minister Dissanayake further said Kumar had been disheartened with Sri Lanka Cricket. He added that he was hopeful that Kumar would reconsider saying that interim committee head Sidath Wettimuny would also speak to him. He further revealed that former Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene was set to take over a role with the country’s cricket administration to develop the infrastructure of the local game at the junior level. Sports Minister Navin Dissanayake said that Jayawardene, 37, has consented to a futuristic role as honorary consultant and spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan had also agreed to support the administration. Minister Dissanayake  noted that the decision to appoint a new interim committee was one that was made objectively and was taken for the benefit of the game that he also loves. He vowed not to interfere with the affairs of the interim committee, adding that there cannot be individual agendas within cricket administration. Sidath Wettimuny, meanwhile, stated that SLC is at a crossroad. He went on to note that SLC would suffer a major decline if immediate steps are not taken. After Sri Lanka’s exit from the quarterfinals of the world cup, it has set out to revamp the local governing body administration by setting up an interim committee headed by the former Test opening batsman Sidath Wettimuny.