Sports

Panda and unfulfilled promises

Published

5 years ago

2021/05/9

by Rex Clementine

There’s someone in the Sri Lankan cricket team who answers to the name ‘Panda’. The name was coined on Thisara Perera by the Australian players during his IPL days with Chennai Super Kings. We never saw his full potential on the cricket field although there were glimpses of his brilliance over a 12 year career.

His first game was in Calcutta in December 2009 when Kumar Sangakkara wanted him flown in as an injury replacement. Thisara was flying on his own at a time there were no direct flights to Calcutta. He had a transit. SLC officials in Colombo and the team back in India were worried whether he would manage to get the right connecting flight and land the day before the game.

Given Panda’s mannerisms, he gives you the impression that he’s a bit backwards. That’s not the truth actually. He’s more childlike wanting assurances from authorities more than someone of his age should. It’s a trait that has not changed in his life. He loves simple things in life. He is someone who will not hurt another person willingly.

After every game that he plays and after every training session, you can be assured that he will be roaming around the cricket grounds be at RPS, Suriyawewa, Dambulla or Pallekele looking for stray dogs. He packs all the remaining food in the dressing room and feeds the dogs. Not even Ambanis dogs get served food from five star hotels. But the dogs at Sri Lanka grounds have that luxury thanks to Thisara. This was something that was evident when he started his cricket and he continued it even when he was captain.

Cricketers and their love lives are well documented. Most of them get hooked up to air hostesses and marry them. Some of them… well, let’s not go there. Thisara’s been with his childhood sweetheart for nearly two decades now. He’s only 32.

Thisara’s mother is a science teacher. When St. Joseph’s College came in search of him offering a scholarship for cricket, she was reluctant. Eventually she gave in. A decision that she doesn’t regret now for her son has gone onto become a household name although given his potential he could have achieved much more.

At St. Joseph’s Thisara got into trouble constantly. He played the first day of a school fixture and didn’t turn up for the second day’s play. He had been spending time with his girlfriend. He was in trouble and was asked to explain. Thisara came up with a cock and bull story that on his way to the ground, he was stopped at an Army check post and was held up as he did not carry an identity card. Rev. Fr. Sylvester Ranasinghe, the Rector, a career educationist, didn’t buy his story. He was suspended.

Chaminda Vaas, one of the finest products of St. Joseph’s made a plea to Fr. Sylvester to allow Thisara at least play the Big Match. Fr. Sylvester agreed. The rest as they say is history as St. Joseph’s won the Big Match after 35 years. Thisara was Man of the Match. The old boys were excited and gave the team a month long tour of Australia. Which 18-year-old would skip an all expenses paid trip to Australia? Thisara would. Reason? He would be missing his girlfriend.

One of the cleanest strikers of the cricket ball, he will clear the boundary with little effort. But consistency was lacking. He would throw the bat for a few overs and hit it on the air and get out rather than grinding it out and completing games. His bowling was lively when he came onto the scene but in later years lacked penetration.

Thisara’s best moment came in the 2014 during the World T-20 in Bangladesh. All his life, he had lived wanting to emulate Arjuna Ranatunga. As in, Arjuna had scored the winning runs in a World Cup final with a boundary. So Thisara wanted to go the same way. So after a tensed run chase against India, with Sri Lanka one stroke away from victory, Thisara threw caution to wind. He finished a World Cup final better than Arjuna scoring a six. Ravichandran Ashwin nearly had his man. Sensing that Thisara would attempt a big shot, Ashwin bowled it wider, but Thisara had got enough wood and the ball cleared the boundary.

Thisara’s career could have been perhaps more successful with someone to offer him better counseling. Hastily he quit Test cricket feeling that he wasn’t getting much opportunities. His figures are still the best by a Sri Lankan seamer at Pallekele.

This time though he was left with Hobson’s choice. The moment it was announced that he will be not considered for ODIs, he chose to retire from international cricket. You will still see him in different franchise cricket tournaments.

During some of cricket’s dicey moments he has come to Sri Lanka’s rescue. Like when everyone refused to tour Pakistan in 2017. He agreed to take the team to Lahore without any conditions. He was a good player and a great human being.

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Misbah-ul-Haq resigns as Pakistan selector after Test squad upheaval

Published

6 hours ago

2026/09/1

Priyan

Misbah-ul-Haq was appointed to the Pakistan men's selection panel in March this year (Cricinfo)

Misbah ul Haq has offered his resignation from the Pak7stan men’s national selection committee the day after the PCB made wholesalw changes to the Teat squad and team management midway through the ongoing tour of England. Misbah has also decided to step down from his role as a batting consultant at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore.

After going 2-0 down in the three-match series by losing at Lord’s by 194 runs, the PCB removed seven players from the Test squad and also released Sarfaraz Ahmed and Umar Gul as head coach and bowling coach ahead of the third Test at Edgbaston from September 9.

Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Agha, Ali Usman, Aamer Jamal, Awais Zafar, and Khurram Shahzad were the seven players released. Five uncapped players – Arafat Minhas, Mohammad Imran Jnr, Saad Baig, Mohammad Imran Randhawa, and Razaullah – will join the Test squad along with Saim Ayub and Abdullah Fazal. Mike Hesson and Ashley Noffke – the head coach and bowling coach of the white-ball set-up – have joined the Test coaching staff.

Cricinfo understands the PCB served a notice to members of the selection committee following the Lord’s defeat seeking a written explanation regarding the selections of Rizwan and Imam in the squads for the tours of West Indies and England.

The notice was sent on Monday, the same day the board announced its decision to send home the seven players and two coaches, ahead of the third Test at Edgbaston from September 9. The notice asked for a written explanation outlining the reasons for their selections and the process through which it was arrived at, within 24 hours of the receipt of notice. From the start of 2024 until the West Indies tour, Rizwan was Pakistan’s top Test run-scorer with the highest average. Imam had only played two Tests in that period but was a heavy domestic run-scorer.

Since retiring as Pakistan’s most successful Test captain in 2017, Misbah has served in various capacities in the PCB. He was appointed in the dual role of head coach and chief selector in 2019. He served in both roles until October 2020, when he resigned as the chief selector to focus entirely on the head coaching responsibilities, from which he ultimately resigned the next year.

Two years later, he was brought in as an advisor by the then chief of ad-hoc management committee Zaka Ashraf and had since remained involved with the PCB. He was announced as one of five mentors for the now-defunct men’s Champions Cup after the current management took over in 2024, and he also mentored women’s teams in domestic competitions. He was the coach of the Pakistan Gold side which won the 50-over National Champions Cup in Multan last month under Shaheen Afridi’s captaincy.

Misbah was made part of the four-member selection committee which includes Aaqib Javed, Sarfaraz Ahmed, and Asad Shafiq in March this year and had also been on a 180-days-a-year contract with the PCB as a batting consultant.

(Cricinfo)

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Nahida, Marufa help Bangladesh brush aside Indonesia

Published

18 hours ago

2026/09/1

Priyan

Marufa Akter's three overs included two wickets and a maiden [Asian Cricket Council]

A superb bowling performance led by Marufa Akter and the spin attack helped Bangladesh overcome Indonesia in their Asia Cup opener in Dubai.

Indonesia, on their Asia Cup debut, put up a spirited performance especially with the ball to restrict Bangladesh to 129 for 8. Sobhana Mostary , playing her 100th international match, top-scored with 40, while Shorna Akter injected late momentum with 31 off 18 balls. Indonesia in return were bowled out for 58, with left-arm spinner Nahida Akter finishing with figures of 3 for 15.

Indonesia make early inroads

Indonesia’s Ni Made Putri Suwandewi found swing almost immediately but Bangladesh’s openers handled the movement well to make a positive start, scoring four boundaries in the first two overs. But that did not last long as Suwandewi struck in her second over, having Juairiya Ferdous mistime an inswinging delivery towards cover point, where Ni Ariani came forward and held a sharp low catch to give Indonesia their first wicket in Asia Cup.

Mostary and Dilara Akter then found run-scoring increasingly difficult. Bangladesh managed only one boundary between the third over and the end of the powerplay, reaching 30 for 1.

Indonesia’s spinners maintained the pressure thereafter, conceding only a few boundaries and repeatedly forcing Bangladesh’s batters to manufacture their shots. The partnership between Mostary andDilara struggled to gather momentum and was eventually broken when Ariani had Dilara caught for 27 off 31 balls. Bangladesh reached 58 for 2 at the halfway stage.

Shorna shines, Indonesia sparkle

Bangladesh’s first six came only in the 13th over thanks to Mostary. But her attempt to accelerate was checked soon after as 16-year old legspinner Sofia Velic, on her international debut, dismissed captain Nigar Sultana. Mostary was then left with the responsibility of guiding Bangladesh towards a competitive total, but Indonesia continued to restrict the scoring. Ni Luh Dewi struck twice in the 17th over to remove Mostary for 40 and Ritu Moni, leaving Bangladesh in further trouble.

Shorna briefly changed the momentum, hitting a six and a four, but Indonesia’s bowling ensured Bangladesh could not fully capitalise. Indonesia too dropped as many as three catches but the reprieves did not make much of an impact.

Ariani produced a dramatic finish to the innings, picking up two wickets as Bangladesh slipped from 105 for 3 to 129 for 8. They lost five wickets for 21 runs in just 17 balls, with Shorna, who had looked Bangladesh’s most fluent batter late in the innings, stranded at the non-striker’s end for much of the final over.

Bangladesh bowlers rule

Marufa began with a probing over, getting the ball to swing both ways and keeping Indonesia’s openers cautious. She broke through in her second over, having Rahmawati Pangestuti edge a full delivery to mid-on. she struck again in her next over, trapping Maria Corazon lbw with a full ball that swung sharply into her pads and beat her attempted flick. Indonesia had lost both openers early but they had made a slightly better start than Bangladesh managed during their own powerplay.

But the game shifted after the powerplay as Bangladesh’s spinners tightened the screws. Senior legspinner Fahima Khatun ended Ni Putu Ayu Nanda Sakarini’s difficult stay at the crease in the ninth over, trapping the Indonesia captain in front for just 2 off 15 balls. Sanjida Akter Meghla followed up with another wicket in the next over, trapping Dewi lbw after she missed a length ball that came into her pads.

Nahida struck in the 12th over but it was in the 14th over that Indonesia’s innings completely fell apart. Nahida first dismissed Suwandewi for 3 after a mistimed pull. Sofia Velic was then run out for 1 following a quick throw from deep fine leg, before Nahida finished the over by bowling Ariani for 2. Indonesia had slipped to eight down, and two more run-outs completed their innings as Bangladesh sealed a convincing 71-run victory.

Scores:
Bangladesh Women 129 for 8 in 20 overs (Dilara Akter 27, Sobhana Mostary 40, Nigar Sultana 10, Shorna Akter 31*; Ni Made Putri Suwandevi 1-13, Ni Ariani 3-28, Ni Luh Dewi 2-21) beat Indonesia Women 58 in 17.3 overs (Maria Corazon 12; Marufa Akter 2-06, Sanjida Akter Meghia 1-11, Nahida nahida 3-15, Fahima Khatun 1-09) by 71 runs

[Cricinfo]

Sports

No room for rigged elections, affirms Eran

Published

21 hours ago

2026/09/1

Sahan Weerasooriya

SLC Transformation Committee head Eran Wickramaratne talks to the media flanked by former Test captain Kumar Sangakkara and Secretary Prakash Schaffter.

by Rex Clementine

The Cricket Transformation Committee met the press yesterday and offered a firm assurance that the new constitution for Sri Lanka Cricket will be in place before November, with all democratic avenues available for concerned parties to challenge it in court.

According to committee head Eran Wickramaratne, the draft constitution has already been forwarded to the Ministry of Sports and subsequently to the relevant legal authorities to iron out any flaws.

Once the draft reaches Cabinet, it will be gazetted, with provisions allowing interested parties to challenge the legality of the new constitution in court.

SLC elections have been bitterly contested over the years and, at times, have resembled a political battlefield rather than a process to elect cricket administrators. There have been instances where members of prominent clubs were suspended for voting against the wishes of their clubs, while armed gunmen have even entered the Board premises at Maitland Place to intimidate voters. Such incidents eventually forced authorities to shift cricket elections to a neutral venue.

The influence wielded by paper clubs and certain district cricket associations during elections has also come under the microscope. The new constitution is expected to address many of these long-standing concerns and Wickramaratne gave a categorical assurance that ballot rigging will not be tolerated this time around.

“There will be no room for rigged elections. That’s for sure. There is a democratic process and people will be allowed to challenge the new constitution within those frameworks,” Wickramaratne said.

Another major talking point at the media briefing was the inaugural Champions Trophy. It was revealed that although the International Cricket Council has indicated that the tournament could be taken away from Sri Lanka as an elected body is not currently running the administration, officials remain hopeful that the country will retain the hosting rights.

There have been suggestions that India could host the tournament should Sri Lanka lose it. Even in such an eventuality, Sri Lanka would not miss out on participation, with the top six teams qualifying for the event and Sri Lanka currently placed sixth in the ODI rankings.

“I am made to understand that the decision will be taken at the next ICC meeting, which will be held in November. By then, we should have cleared many hurdles and the new constitution would have been passed by Parliament and dates should be fixed for the election,” Wickramaratne told the press.

“We have kept the ICC informed about what has been happening on a regular basis and we are hopeful that we will be able to host the Champions Trophy,” he added.

Former captain Kumar Sangakkara, who is also a member of the committee, was present at the briefing and was asked about creating more opportunities for budding Test cricketers.

Sangakkara stressed that Test cricket needed to be protected in the years ahead, but pointed out that supporters too had a role to play by demonstrating their appetite for the game’s traditional format.

He added that concerns over the future of Test cricket had been raised even at ICC level and that measures were being explored to safeguard the longer format of the game.