Cricketing star Gajan Pathmanathan dies in USA

Former Royal College, Sri Lanka Schools, Oxford University, Cambridge University and Sri Lanka cricketer Gajan Pathmanathan died in Maryland, USA after a prolonged illness at the age of 58.

A fine right-hand attacking batsman Gajan played for Royal in 1971 and 1972. In the Royal Thomian of 1971 Gajan joined skipper Jagath Fernando after the fall of the first wicket and pulverised the Thomian attack to score an explosive 97 in just 110 minutes and was involved in a record breaking 185 run stand for the second wicket with skipper Jagath Fernando (160 not out) which is still the highest partnership for the second wicket in the Royal-Thomian series.

He really blossomed out as a batsman in 1972. His belligerent knock of 79 in 70 minutes in the Royal second innings against St. Joseph's at Darley Road including five sixers against the deadly Josephian pace attack of Rajiv Benedict and Gary Melder was described as a seventy minute fireworks display by veteran sports writer T.M.K. Samat writing in the Daily Observer.

Gajan opening batting for the Board president's XI against the visiting Australian schoolboys at the St. Peter's Grounds, Bambalapitiya made a superb 101 not out of a total of 184 for 7 declared defying the fearsome Australian pace trio of Tom Gillogly, Michael Lang and John Hendrie which resulted in him being picked for the Sri Lanka schools team against the Australian schoolboys led by Robert Goldin which included Raymond Bright and Graham Yallop.

He opened batting in all three Tests for Sri Lanka schools with Nalandian Bandula Warnapura and the squad had the services of Asitha Jayaweera (Captain, Royal), Duleep Mendis (S. Thomas'), Roy Dias (St. Peter's), Flavian Aponso (St. Sebastian's), Gary Melder and Rajiv Benedict (St. Joseph's), Ranil Abeynaike (S. Thomas'), Ajit de Silva (Ananda), Kamal Samarasinghe (S. Thomas') and Ray de Silva (Royal).

After leaving school Gajan joined Oxford University, England to pursue higher studies and played cricket for Oxford.

He returned to England for his post graduate studies and turned out for Cambridge University and had the rare distinction of opening batting for British Combined Universities against the touring West Indies in 1980 partnered by another Royalist Aziz Mubarak being involved in an opening stand of 87 defying the deadly Windies pace attack of Michael Holding, Colin Croft and Malcolm Marshall.

He was a member of the Sri Lanka cricket team which toured Pakistan under Anura Tennekoon in 1974.

Gajan hailed from a cricketing family with younger brother Dayalan also playing for Royal from 1975 to 1977 while his nephew Devin Pathmanathan was the vice captain of the Royal team in 2012.