Sports
Gura: The unsung hero
The autobiography of Mr. Ranjit Fernando, launched last month, offers a fascinating peek behind the curtain into how a clutch of Sri Lanka’s finest cricketers were groomed in their formative years. Mr. Fernando was in charge when the Sri Lanka Under-19 side toured Australia in 1984 under the captaincy of Aravinda de Silva, a team that read like a who’s who of future stars, featuring Roshan Mahanama, Asanka Gurusinha and Jerome Jayaratne among others. The Aussies had Mark Taylor, the Waugh brothers and Craig McDermott.
As Mr. Fernando kept a watchful eye on his young charges, there was mischief brewing beneath the surface. At the book launch at the Galle Face Hotel, Aravinda let the cat out of the bag. Gurusinha, it turns out, had masterminded a daring escape plan, players sneaking out through the hotel window, climbing onto the roof and sliding down a pole to freedom to enjoy the night life in Brisbane..
Mr. Fernando, ever the hawk-eyed disciplinarian, caught wind of the escapade. Yet in a twist that raised a few eyebrows, it was Gurusinha who was handed the captaincy for the next Under-19 tour to England. Some insist Fernando had missed the mischief; others, who know him better, reckon he was playing a long game, setting a thief to catch thieves, backing a natural leader who could keep the dressing room in check.
Fast forward to 1996 and Gurusinha found himself cast in a very different role on cricket’s biggest stage. During Sri Lanka’s victorious World Cup campaign, he was often seen as the quiet man at the crease, a grafter in a team of dashers. To the untrained eye, his batting seemed workmanlike, even pedestrian. Fans, spoilt for choice with the pyrotechnics of Sanath Jayasuriya, Romesh Kaluwitharana and Aravinda de Silva, wanted fireworks, not forward defence. In a line-up full of strokemakers, many wondered what Gurusinha brought to the table.
Gura was no mug with the bat. He could clear the ropes and put bowlers to the sword when the situation demanded. But in that 1996 campaign, every cog in the wheel had a purpose. His job was to drop anchor, bat time and allow the strokemakers to play with freedom around him. It was a role that demanded discipline, selflessness and a thick skin, especially when the crowd was baying for boundaries.
While others were flaying attacks and ending the careers of bowlers like Manoj Prabhakar and Richard Illingworth, Gura was content to rotate the strike, even if it meant playing second fiddle. The fans, unaware of the team’s blueprint, were not always appreciative. Their impatience did not go unnoticed.
At one point, a frustrated Gurusinha had had enough. He approached captain Arjuna Ranatunga and Manager Duleep Mendis, keen to throw off the shackles and play his natural game. But the think tank stood firm, urging him to see the bigger picture, to play for the team, not the gallery. Gurusinha bought in, rolled up his sleeves and stuck to the script. The rest, as they say, is history.
As Sri Lanka marked the 30th anniversary of that famous triumph this week, Gurusinha reflected on the campaign in an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, offering fresh insight into the tactical nous that underpinned their success.
Sri Lanka’s batting line-up featured four left-handers in the top seven, no accident, but a calculated move. The plan was clear: take on Shane Warne, Australia’s trump card and knock him off his rhythm.
The Australians had a well-worn blueprint, build pressure through dot balls, squeeze the scoring and force batters into mistakes. Sri Lanka were determined not to fall into that trap. At that stage of his career, Warne was still developing his armoury and did not possess a reliable wrong’un to trouble left-handers.
When Jayasuriya fell early in the final, the baton passed to Gurusinha. True to plan, he stepped up, using his feet, unsettling Warne and disrupting Australia’s chokehold. It was a knock that didn’t grab headlines but played a crucial hand in tilting the contest Sri Lanka’s way.
For many, the World Cup win was life-changing; lucrative contracts for players, solid match fees and financial security followed. But Gurusinha’s story took a different turn. He walked away from the game the very same year, at just 29, missing out on the financial rewards that came in the aftermath.
Cricket, however, remembers more than just numbers and pay cheques. It remembers moments, roles played under pressure and men who put the team before self.In that sense, Asanka Gurusinha remains what every great side needs but few celebrate, the glue that held it all together. An unsung hero, in every sense of the word.
by Rex Clementine
Pakistan’s premier domestic T20 league will take place in empty stadiums due to the recent spike in oil prices, says a top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
The franchise-based Pakistan Super League, set to kick off on Thursday, also cancelled its opening ceremony in Lahore, PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi said on Sunday, citing a fuel shortage caused by the conflict in the Middle East.
The league was set to be played in six cities, but now only Lahore and Karachi will be hosting the games, with the opening encounter set to be played at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
Pakistan has faced soaring oil prices prompted by the United States-Israel war on Iran and the subsequent spread of the conflict across the region. Pakistan’s government has asked its citizens to restrict their movements due to rising fuel prices.
“We don’t know how long this war will continue,” Naqvi said.
“We can’t ask people to restrict their movements and then have 30,000 people in stadiums every day. We decided that as long as this [oil] crisis is ongoing, we will not have crowds at matches. This was a difficult decision, but it needed to be made. The opening ceremony will also be cancelled.”
Naqvi said the PCB will issue refunds for all sold tickets within 72 hours and will also compensate franchise owners for the loss of revenue from gate receipts.
Naqvi apologised to the four cities – Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Multan and Peshawar – that will no longer host PSL games this season. “We have to restrict our movements, and we do not want to waste our resources,” he said. “I especially apologise to Peshawar, which was due to host PSL games for the first time, [but] there will be no crowds anyway, so there was no reason to go to those cities.”
Naqvi said he consulted Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who is also the PCB patron, and the eight franchises before finalising the decision to stage the games in empty stadiums.
Several foreign players have pulled out of PSL due to personal reasons, including Australians Jake Fraser-McGurk and Spencer Johnson, South African Ottneil Baartman and Gudakesh Motie of the West Indies.
[Aljazeera]
Dasun Shanaka has replaced the injured Sam Curran at Rajasthan Royals (RR) for IPL 2026 and has informed his PSL team, Lahore Qalandars, of his decision.
Shanaka will join RR for INR 2 crore (US$ 214,000 approx.).
”Sam brings immense value with both bat and ball,” Kumar Sangakkara, director of cricket and head coach, RR, said. “However, we are pleased to have found an ideal replacement in Dasun Shanaka, a finisher with the bat and a quality all-rounder who helps maintain the balance of our side.”
Curran, who was part of a pre-auction trade between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and RR in which CSK acquired Sanju Samson and RR also got Ravindra Jadeja, has a groin issue, which has ruled him out of the IPL.
Qalandars, meanwhile, are replacing Shanaka with Australia allrounder Daniel Sams. PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi recently also said the board will be taking action against players such as Shanaka and Blessing Muzarabani who have been opting out of the PSL for IPL deal.
Shanaka, a lower-order batter and medium-pace bowler who led Sri Lanka at the recent T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, comes in with good batting form: he hit a 20-ball 50 against Oman and 76 not out in 31 balls against Pakistan. He has played one season of the IPL in the past, in 2023, when he played three games for Gujarat Titans (GT) with unspectacular returns.
He becomes the second player to walk away from his PSL team to join an IPL franchise in the past few days after Muzarabani opted out of his deal with Islamabad United once Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) reached out to him to be a replacement for Mustafizur Rahman, who the team had to release on instructions from the BCCI because of geopolitical tensions between India and Bangladesh.
For RR, Shanaka joins a strong list of overseas players, the others being Shimron Hetmyer, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Donovan Ferreira, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Kwena Maphaka and Adam Milne.
RR, who finished one off the bottom last season, begin their IPL 2026 campaign next Monday, March 30, in Guwahati against CSK. (cricinfo)
Today is a red-letter day for Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium. Exactly 25 years ago, to this very day, the venue hosted its maiden international, Sri Lanka locking horns with England and in the quarter-century since, the ground has grown from a bold gamble into one of the country’s prized cricketing possessions.
From Sachin Tendulkar’s silken drives to Dale Steyn’s thunderbolts, the game’s greats have left their imprint here. Dambulla has seen it all, high-octane contests, spin clinics and finishes that have gone down to the wire.
The brainchild of former SLC President Thilanga Sumathipala, Dambulla was not built on a whim but on a clear game plan. Sri Lanka, weary of rain playing spoilsport and washing games down the drain, needed a venue in the dry zone. A study into the country’s driest regions pointed squarely to Dambulla, centrally located, easily accessible and, crucially, less at the mercy of the weather gods.
If location was the first box ticked, aesthetics were the icing on the cake. Perched along the Colombo – Sigiriya road, the ground offers a view that can take your breath away. Climb up to the main stand and you are greeted by a sea of green, with the serene Ibbankatuwa Tank glistening in one corner. Sunsets here are straight out of a postcard. In another corner looms the historic Dambulla Rock, where King Valagamba, in exile, regrouped before marching back to reclaim his kingdom from south Indian invaders. Cricket here, quite literally, is played in the shadow of history.
Dambulla isn’t just a cricket ground. This is part of Thilanga’s visionary thinking. He wanted the game to trickle down to the grassroots, to take cricket out of Colombo’s comfort zone and into the heartland. The response has been overwhelming. Whenever the big boys roll into town, the stands are packed to the rafters and when space runs out, fans perch on nearby trees just to catch a glimpse, a reminder that cricket, in this part of the country, is more than a game; it is a way of life.
The stadium itself was built in double-quick time, a project fast-tracked with military precision. Former captains Bandula Warnapura and Duleep Mendis, then part of the SLC set-up, oversaw the construction, ensuring the ground was ready to host top-flight cricket without missing a beat. Sujeewa Godaliyadda, now SLC Treasurer, has been part of the furniture here from day one, guarding the venue like the apple of his eye.
Back in 2001, the surrounding area was little more than a quiet outpost. Fast forward to today and the landscape has changed beyond recognition, hotels, restaurants and supermarkets have sprung up, proof that cricket has been a catalyst for economic growth. The ripple effect has been unmistakable; livelihoods have improved and the region has been put firmly on the map.
Of course, the journey has not always been smooth sailing. At times, Dambulla was left out in the cold, sidelined due to petty politics while other venues were given the nod. Hambantota’s Suriyawewa had its moment in the sun, but when rain threatens to play havoc, Dambulla remains the trump card. Unlike some white elephants, this ground delivers when it matters.
In recent years, the venue has come back into its own. Floodlights have been upgraded, state-of-the-art training facilities have been added and Dambulla is now being groomed as a Centre of Excellence. A new media centre is in the pipeline, while expansion plans are on the drawing board to meet the ever-growing demand from fans eager to soak in cricket in this picturesque setting.
by Rex Clementine
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