The Pakistan Super League will have a popular winner this season. It is either Peshawar Zalmi and their adored leader Babar Azam triumphing at what is his home ground, or Hyderabad Kingsmen, a flawed side that has caught fire at the right moments to defy odds to stay alive until the very end.

In Zalmi, there is a team that, with its relentless consistency all tournament, cricketing logic dictates should be the favourites. But in Kingsmen, there is a team Pakistanis can relate to so deeply, one that starts poorly, fixates on impossible scenarios, takes advantage of net run rates, and pulls victories out of dead-and-buried scenarios with what feels like unstoppable momentum on its side. This is the team for whom Pakistani logic will promise that the favourites tag is just another mere obstacle to bulldoze past.

Zalmi have the ingredients a league-winning side needs to possess. The top two run-scorers in the league, as well as the top wicket-taker, all wear yellow. Babar and Kusal Mendis’ phenomenal consistency frees up Mohammad Haris at the top for a free hit in the powerplay, and sets up enough of a platform to take the pressure off the rest.

In tennis circles, Andrew Kaavinda Wijemanne is becoming a bit of an household name exceeding expectations doing his schools S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia proud.

This week, young Wijemanne won the Kurunegala Club Weekend Ranking Tournament under-18 singles and then partnered with Nevan Kannangara of St. Joseph’s to win the men’s doubles event. He also reached the finals of the Wayamba Championship in the under-18 category before going down to his doubles partner Nevan Kannangara.

The duo also have reached the doubles final in the Negombo Open scheduled for Sunday.

Sri Lanka’s new Interim Committee, helmed by Eran Wickramaratne, has walked out to bat amid a swell of cautious optimism, with cricket lovers hoping the ship can finally be steadied after years of choppy waters. Yet even before the ink has dried, the rumour mill has gone into overdrive, peddling the tired line that failure to hold elections within three months will invite an ICC suspension. That, to put it mildly, is a cock and bull story.

Interim Committees are not alien to Sri Lankan cricket, nor are they frowned upon by the International Cricket Council. In fact, many of the earlier ones, led by men of standing, came in, rolled up their sleeves and put the house in order.

The rot, as many would argue, set in during the era of Mahinda Rajapaksa, when such Interim Committees were used less as repair kits and more as patronage platforms. Mahinda used the cricket board to give positions to his friends. He was always loyal to his friends. In turn, his friends showed their loyalty back to Mahinda by awarding the lucrative television deal of SLC to his second son’s company.

This current Interim Committee, however, reads like a team sheet you wouldn’t mind backing. When you have a former Marylebone Cricket Club President in Kumar Sangakkara, a seasoned ICC match referee in Roshan Mahanama and a respected elder statesman in Sidath Wettimuny, you’re hardly short on cricketing brains trust. Add to that the corporate acumen of Prakash Schaffter and the legal nous of Dinal Phillips, and it’s an all-round side with depth in every department. As Tony Greig once said during a game in Sharjah, ‘Don’t tell anything nasty about Sri Lankan cricket to Dinal Phillips.’

They hardly need advice from the cheap seats, but anyway, here’s our two cents.

First, selection; the engine room of any successful side. Get that wrong and you’re forever chasing the game. Whether it’s Sangakkara, Wettimuny or Mahanama taking the reins, or someone cut from similar cloth, the message is simple: pick a selector who knows his onions. A bull in a China shop is less troublesome than the man heading selections at the moment.

Then there’s the elephant in the pavilion – Test cricket. Between July 2025 and June 2026, Sri Lanka hasn’t got a single Test match. Not one. For a nation that once fought tooth and nail for Test status under the stewardship of Gamini Dissanayake, this is sacrilege. The great man must be turning in his grave.

While the Executive Committee has packed its bags, the top executives still loiter at Maitland Place like a night watchman that refuses to vacate after a collapse. Expect the usual stock responses – Test cricket isn’t profitable, or the calendar is dictated by the World Test Championship. But such thinking is as outdated as playing timeless Tests. Institutions don’t move forward by blocking on the back foot forever. Fresh ideas are needed and perhaps a few long-standing occupants need to walk before they’re shown the pavilion.

Schedule more Test matches, even against sides that are not part of the World Test Championship. Don’t believe in the lies your top executives dish out. Tell them, if there’s a will, there’s a way.

Women’s cricket is another area crying out for attention. While other nations have moved the field up and attacked, Sri Lanka has been content to play defensively. At present, cricket hasn’t been able to appeal to the girls in schools. The chosen sports by girls at school level are netball, basketball, swimming, badminton and athletics. Cricket, sadly doesn’t come among the top ten sports of girls schools be it at Holy Family Convent in Colombo or Marjan Muslim Ladies College in Sammanthurai.

The remedy isn’t rocket science. Invest in schools, provide equipment, open doors. Set a target; say 500 schools playing the game within three years and chase it with intent. Provincial academies could serve as nurseries, turning raw talent into finished products. Cricket, after all, is an expensive sport; without support, many promising players are run out before they reach the crease.

Other sports have shown the way. Basketball, for instance, cast its net wide post-war, tapping into regions like Jaffna and reaping the rewards. Cricket, meanwhile, has been guilty of too much talk about infrastructure and not enough about grassroots. Forget the grandstands for a moment, it’s the nets that matter. Take the game to the people, coach the coaches and give emerging regions a crack at competitive cricket.

The Lanka Premier League, too, has promised much but delivered in fits and starts. Like a flashy opener who flatters to deceive, it has struggled for consistency. Questionable ownerships and off-field controversies haven’t helped. Perhaps it’s time for Sri Lanka Cricket to play the long game – trim profits, bring in credible local investors and build a tournament that can stand the test of time rather than chasing quick bucks.

Then there’s a small but telling symbol of excess – the Minister’s Box at major cricket venues. For years, it has served as a cosy enclosure for the high and mighty. Why not flip the script? Open it up for the disabled, give them a chance to watch the game in comfort. Cricket, after all, belongs to the people, not just those in high office. (Credit to the current Minister of Sports for not using the facility).

The ball now is on Eran’s court.

by Rex Clementine