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| Sunday, 24 April 2005 |
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Straight talk by Lal Gunesekera Cricket and Athletics suffer as officials battle in courts For heavens sake, when is this all going to end? The tug-o-war between the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Jeevan Kumaratunga and Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) where the "villain" of the entire episode seems to be the controversial Thilanga Sumathipala, who has made plenty of enemies who try to oust him whenever he contests for the top slot at SLC. It has happened in the past and it has happened again! It was only last month (March) that he was to be elected uncontested by the entire membership as President of SLC, but Minister Kumaratunga suspended SLC, citing "financial mismanagement". However, SLC, went ahead with its annual general meeting with Sumathipala been elected President. An Interim Committee was appointed by Minister Kumaratunga to run the affairs of the sport-the fourth since the mid 1990s and this time, headed by Jayantha Dharmadasa with Tryphone Mirando as Secretary. Who suffers from all these problems in the end? It's the game of cricket and the cricketers themselves. The battle has moved to Hultsdorp and these legal cases are known to be long drawn out affairs, and neither Minister Kumaratunga nor Sumathipala are willing to "give in" without a fight. However, I sincerely hope that sanity will prevail in the end and the matter settled amicably like what happened to the Sri Lanka Athletic Association (SLAA) a couple of years back. They, too, were suspended, an Interim Committee appointed, but finally the elected officials were brought back. Why cannot Minister Kumaratunga do the same where SLC is concerned. After all, elected officials must be allowed to do their job without any hindrance or interference, unless there are serious charges against them. The ICC, too, has accepted the Interim Committee appointed by Minister Kumaratunga as the official body for cricket in Sri Lanka. Already due to these problems between the Ministry of Sports and SLC, the One-Day Internationals between India and Sri Lanka to have been played in India was postponed, but a Triangular between Sri Lanka, India and West Indies is scheduled for August in Sri Lanka when the Windies are down to tour the island. The Interim Committee has also to finalise player contracts (which expired end March) and also find a team sponsor. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SLC Duleep Mendis, too is reported to be having "second thoughts" of continuing in office. What about the salaries of the employees of SLC? John Dyson, the Australian has also completed his contract as coach of the Sri Lanka team and a new person has to be found soon. The news was that former Sri Lanka coach Dav Whatmore now with Bangladesh was interested in the job again. But he has decided to remain with Bangladesh. Former Australian skipper Steve Waugh, too has shown interest in coaching Sri Lanka and even India after John Wright's term came to an end. Sri Lanka captain Mavan Atapattu and manager Brendon Kuruppu too, have gone against the instructions issued by the Secretary of the Interim Committee, Tryphone Mirando and had a three-hour long discussion with Sumathipala at the headquarters of SLC last week after their arrival from New Zealand. The Interim Committee has also written to the Banks to "freeze" the accounts of SLC, but SLC Treasurer, Nuski Mohamed, says it is illegal. So it all points to yet another court case at Hultsdorf. When is this all going to end? Something has to be done soon to settle this affair once and for all, the sooner the better for the game. Atapattu and some players met the Interim Committee too last Thursday. Another court case Yet another court battle is on, this time the controlling body involved is the Athletic Association of Sri Lanka (AASL) with the Colombo District Court issuing a restraining order just before the Sinhala and Tamil New Year preventing the newly elected officials of AASL from functioning until the court makes a decision on Friday (April 29). The Deputy Director of Sports of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports Derwin Perera, who contested for the post of AASL President against the Minister of Provincial Councils and Local Government Janaka Bandara Tennekoon, had alleged that the election of office-bearers at the annual general meeting held on March 27 was a "farce, marred by violence and thuggery". Minister Tennekoon was elected President with 56 votes to Perera's 54. Derwin Perera appealed to Minister Kumaratunga to intervene in the matter and see that justice was done, and even President Chandrika Kumaratunga too was approached by a group of top athletes to settle the dispute and probe the manner the annual general meeting was conducted. What has sports administration come to in Sri Lanka when will all this end? |
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