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| Sunday, 4 September 2005 |
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Straight talk by Lal Gunesekera Inefficient SLC officials deprive the coffers being filled The persons appointed by the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Jeevan Kumaratunga, to the Interim Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) after the elected officials were "removed" by the Minister in March, seems to be a bunch of inefficient officials. Why do I say this? Although these Interim Committee members are successful business personalities and some of whom are even bankers, they have failed miserably in their task of attracting sponsors for the Sri Lanka team (both Test and One-Day). Can you believe it? They signed an agreement with Dilmah for a three-year term for US Dollars 2 million only. The earlier deal with Dilmah with the elected body of SLC was US Dollars 3.3 million. So, the second three-year deal with Dilmah signed by the Interim Committee is US Dollars 1.3 million less. Why? What were the reasons? Rather lame excuses were trotted out on the day the agreement was signed. But the truth of the whole matter was that the Interim Committee just could not attract sponsors for a "good deal". Furthermore, these sponsors prefer to deal with elected bodies and not Interim Committees appointed by politicians. There was nothing "underhand" going on to stop sponsors coming forward as the Secretary of the Interim Committee was reported to have said. The previous elected administration, marketed the sponsorship in a professional manner, even going to the extent of publishing a brochure about the Sri Lanka team, performances etc. In the first-round, there were five establishments who were keen on being the team sponsors. Later they were reduced to three and the minimum deal was to have been US Dollars 5 million. Negotiations were on with LG Electronics, Hero Honda and Dilmah too. What happened in the end? The elected body was "kicked out' and an Interim Committee appointed. Now, SLC, have suffered a loss of US Dollars 3 million with only Dilmah remaining to have clinched the deal at US Dollars 2 million. Is this not a clear case of inefficiency - not been successful to attract sponsors by the Interim Committee? What will happen now? The cricketers themselves will suffer. They will be earning less and I hear that most of them are up in arms. It's a pity, because they have been performing well. The employees of SLC too stands to suffer. They too face reductions in their salaries and even retrenchment. Hashan Tillekeratne, the former Sri Lanka captain who headed Cricket-Aid has been axed already with flimsy charges been made against him. This was "coming" for some time, as Tillekeratne, was identified as one of Thilanga Sumathipala's "catchers". There are others who are facing the firing squad. Sumathipala and Aravinda de Silva who was given a raw deal by the Interim Committee when they came into "power" in March, must be having the last laugh. It was they who were instrumental in attracting sponsors for the US Dollars 5 million deal. Now, SLC certainly is run in an amateurish manner. Further exploits of Mr. Hilton The double standards of SLC's Interim Committee was exposed during the recent Indian Oil Cup Triangular between Sri Lanka, India and West Indies. They (the SLC) refused leave for Premasara Epasinghe one of their employees to give commentaries for the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) and he was forced to resign from his post. However, it has come to light that the hotelier turned media pundit of SLC had given his "two cents worth" for All-India Radio during the same tournament. Perhaps he was given this opportunity because it was he who found the Indian radio personnel accommodation at the Five-Star Hotel where he is employed. Did SLC give him permission to "go on the air"? Were SLC aware of this? Where the Media Unit of SLC is concerned, the accreditation forms to cover the tour of Bangladesh to Sri Lanka were faxed to this newspaper only after a reminder last Tuesday (August 30) afternoon. The tour got under way with the first of three One-Day Internationals on the following day (August 31). I wonder why SLC cannot issue media identity cards for the entire year as was the case in the "good old days"? How did a young lass who was employed by SLC some years back get accreditation for the Bangladesh tour. She happens to be the sister of a well-known swimmer and was seen in the company of this media pundit at Dambulla during the recent Triangular and that too in the Press Box. Why the preferential treatment? She is not attached to either the print or electronic media. A new trend? Can you believe that during the first practice game between the touring Bangladesh team and a SLC XI at the Moratuwa Stadium, two plastic chairs were brought in by the reserves of the touring team at the first water break. Then to the surprise of those present, the two Bangladeshi batsmen were seen comfortably sitting down on the chairs and relaxing. During the second water break too, one chair was brought in, but no one made use of it. There is nothing in the laws of the game that disallows it, but it has not happened in the past - not to my knowledge at least. Selectors misled The national selectors picked the Sri Lanka under-19 team to England recently, but seems to have been misled by a high ranking official of SLC. This individual had instructed the selectors to pick those under-19 in preparation for next year's Youth World Cup to be staged in Sri Lanka, but England, had selected an under-20 team. How come? This individual's son was a stand-bye for the tour, which was the worst in recent years. Sri Lanka juniors fared very well in Pakistan and should have been considered for England too, but due to the selectors being misled, they had to be content on playing in the under-23 tournament. The experience they would have gained was lost. Exco does the selections The Sri Lanka under-17 team toured Malaysia recently, and this time, it was the Executive Committee of the Schools Association who picked the side. The captain who went on this tour was a failure at the trials, while the son of the individual who misled the national selectors for the tour of England, failed in one trial but was made vice-captain. Also, a master-in-charge of cricket at a school in Ambalangoda went as coach when qualified coaches attached to schools were not even considered. Resigns at last The controversial manager of the Sri Lanka athletic team, Kiran Atapattu, waited till he landed in South Korea for the Asian Championship to announce his resignation. I wonder why he waited till he got to South Korea to resign? This multi-millionaire shipchandlier was on collision course with several top athletes and coaches who demanded his resignation for a long time. Even the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports refused point-blank to meet his expenses to South Korea. However, Atapattu, was made Sri Lanka's third delegate to the Asian Athletic Congress. The other two were Sunil Jayaweera (a Vice-President of SLAA) and Prema Pinnawala (Secretary of SLAA). How was Atapattu made a delegate? He is not an office-bearer of SLAA in the first instant. Rs. 10 lakhs bonds All athletes who went to South Korea for the Asian Championships had to sign a bond for Rs. 10 lakhs each with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports before leaving the country. This is an attempt to put a stop to sportsmen and women decamping. During the 2002 Asian Games also in South Korea, Sri Lanka's kabaddi team and three judokas "went missing". There were many such instances in the past too. After 57 years It was far back in 1948 that a Sri Lankan (Barney Henricus) won a medal in Boxing at the then Empire Games. It took 57 years for Sri Lanka to win medals again at Commonwealth level. Harsha Kumara (light flyweight) and Kamal Sameera (feather weight) won bronze medals at the Commonwealth Championships in Glasgow, Scotland recently. The former hails from Vidyartha and the latter from Seevali MMV in Ratnapura. Kumara lost to the Indian champion in the semi-finals, while Sameera, lost to the eventual gold medallist from England. Their main aim and dream - win more medals at international meets and put Sri Lanka on the world map. Another bright prospect, Manju Wanniaratchchi, lost to Botswana's champion by a single point. Dian Gomes who heads the Amateur Boxing Association (ABA) of Sri Lanka, is a dynamic personality who has done a lot for the sport in a short time he has held the reins. His company (MAS Holdings), are a big encouragement to the sport and with Caltex too giving a helping hand in a big way, I am certain that boxing will bring glory back to the country. Well done Dian - continue your good work. |
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