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| Sunday, 18 May 2003 |
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Chandana - the whipping boy of Lankan cricket by SRIAN OBEYESEKERE For a cricketer who could be counted in the hall of fame among such pantheons like a fielding great of all time, South African Jonty Rhodes, Sri Lanka's Upul Chandana must surely consider himself one of those unlucky ones. For Chandana, despite breathing into the game the type of brimstone and fire of a Rhodes in the all important fielding department today, continues to be virtually confined to the `reserve lane' of Lankan cricket. Certainly, this wiry bundle of energy, renowned to bring off those `out of this world' catches from length dives to stopping those full blooded shots, continues in a destiny of playing second fiddle to others. A sad irony of Lankan cricket at a time fielding is sacred and the standard in the national team has left much to be desired. Today, it is no stretch of imagination that Chandana is better known to the cricketing community serving his country sadly more as a reserve. He could be seen taking the field from the reserve benches, rushing into substitute for someone retiring to the pavilion during a match. A role which makes one wonder whether this land with such promising allround talent has been thought of as the most suitable by those who run the game. Tragi-comically, ever since this lad from Galle broke into the big circuit, Chandana's fate has been of impermanency in the national team despite carrying credentials that goes to make an allrounder. Ironically, a breed to which other countries like Australia and South Africa have been laying much emphasis on in team building. Perhaps Chandana is a typical example of the state of Sri Lankan cricket where team building has left much to be desired in comparison to Australia and South Africa. A striking contrast being the dime a dozen of Chandana's who have fallen on the wayside unlike the Ian Harveys, Andy Bichels, Lance Kluseners, Jaques Kallis' and Shane Watsons who have made the mark. Significantly for the fact that talent therein discovered was harnessed and nurtured to blossom to full potential. The application of the Australian and South African example in team building, it could be argued, has been something lacking as far as Sri Lankan cricket is concerned, the bottom line being that players who made it to the blocks have not got that much of exposure to hone in their skills. While Chandana, aged 30, continues to be the whipping boy of Lankan cricket today, ever since breaking into the limelight some 6 years ago, where there is no place for him in either the Test team or one-day team, some of the other shining examples of the bad side of the coin are batsmen Tillekeratne Dilshan, Indika de Saram, Chamara Silva, allrounder Kaushalya Weeraratne, bowlers Rangana Herath, Muthumudalige Pushpakumara and Charitha Buddhika Fernando. Most of them, particularly Dilshan, Saram, Herath, Weeraratne and Fernando have been used in such ad hoc manner where in their favour is the fact that none of them got a decent opportunity to establish themselves at national level. The apparent theme word of consistency being the unrealistic demands of having to come good in a few matches or to be shown the door. While Dilshan could be singled out as central of the lot to have being among the unfortunates of not having being nurtured along to full potential which was written in a 160-odd century and in his baptismal stage at that, Saram, Silva, Herath and Weeraratne, it could be said have been the victims of short-sightedness on the part of the authorities in letting latent talent fall on the wayside. That Upul Chandana, a find from the villages, a typical example of the village cricketer who made it from small beginnings to the metropolis to better a starry-eyed dream of making it to the top, sadly finds himself languishing at the mercy of those administering the game where his career borders on an uncertain future is by itself a bad reflection of Lankan cricket. Explanatory of the effects of expectancy in short term results. A player who by his own standards of his ability to lay claims as the number one fielder in the country at that level notwithstanding credentials of a leg spinner and googly bowler with a penchant to hit the ball hard which talent has been crushed like a flower when it could have flowered to desired heights, given the type of consistency and confidence required to do so. Certainly, being used as a stop gap player, has not been ideally in the interest of Lankan cricket as much as Chandana's career. It is strikingly a sorry side of the much talked of development of the game here at a time much trumpet blowing is being done about outstation cricket. A travesty of fair play where a village lad continues to get a raw deal despite performing. The best example of which is the recent most showcasing of events with cricket at its height. He was out of the national team for over an year during Sri Lanka's tours of South Africa and Australia, leading to the World Cup which saw a heavy calendar of one-day cricket. A mere television viewer of the team's fortunes perhaps wondering what he was doing back home as our fielding took a bashing. Chandana's omission while several unknown quarters found favour was not missed by the international cricketing community which lamented on it, while locally the selectors came in for much criticism. But since, Chandana's relegation to a back seat has continued. Perhaps on a firmer footing, and that despite having been asked by the selectors to perform and justify his inclusion, a need to which the allrounder answered with a haul of 5 wickets and a fighting half century when the batting around him crumbled in a trial one-day match against the New Zealanders. But once again, Chandana as much as the cricketing public here have realised that to achieve has not brought results. While he did not find favour of the eleven in the two-Test series against New Zealand, strangely Chandana has continued to occupy the benches in the ongoing triangular series where host country Sri Lanka is joined by New Zealand and Pakistan upto now in two matches. What goes to make a mockery of trial games is the fact that while performance has not reaped rewards for Chandana, out of form players, who failed badly in the World Cup and again in the trial games back home, have found blue-eyed treatment. This by itself is not only strangling a career of one of Sri Lanka's bright allrounders as much as it is a blow to outstation cricket where more Chandanas from the village would resultantly lose heart. Still worse it is not the best of take offs for a nation which is looking to team building and the future. To sit on a bright career such as Chandana's which on the contrary needs a guiding hand, is also in effect a blow to cricket as a whole where a player with the greatest attributes of a world class fielder finds himself a non starter. |
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