Sports
Tamil Union to support Debarawewa cricket for three years
Debarwewa Central College in the Hambantota district has a good cricketing heritage having produced a Test captain in Suranga Lakmal but has fallen on hard times trying to maintain their cricket activities. The school received a generous sponsorship from Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club for a three year period. The club will donate a sum of Rs. 250,000.00 to the school annually.
The Cricket team of Tamil Union, led by Lakmal visited Debarawewa Central College on a cricket development visit last week. Debarawewa Central is home to Lakmal and Test cricketer Dhananjaya de Silva.
The club also donated senior and junior playing equipment as well as playing kits for the 1st XI side for the upcoming season. This is part of Tamil Unions’ effort to support the development of Sri Lanka cricket from grassroots level.
The ceremony was followed by a friendly cricket match comprising of two mixed XI’s featuring both the cricketers of Tamil Union and Debarawewa Central College 1st XI. This match was played in front of the entire school comprising over 2,500 young boys and girls. This game has inspired aspiring young cricketers, both male and female, as they watched a proud product of the school take the field once more at the school grounds where his cricketing journey saw its humble beginnings.
Lakmal came to the club as a youngster and Dinal Philips (PC) was like a father figure to him looking after his every need. Soon, Janashakthi offered him employment and Lakmal went onto become Sri Lanka’s most successful fast bowler in Test cricket after Chaminda Vaas.
Lakmal has been with the club throughout his Sri Lanka career. He captained the club in 2015 when they won the League title and the one-day trophy in 2021.
This follows a long tradition at the Tamil Union C & AC in supporting cricketers from the south, commencing with Upul Sumathipala in the 1970s, to the Samarasekara brothers, Champaka Ramanayake, Upul Chandana and more recently Suranga Lakmal and Dhananjaya de Silva.
The principal of Debarawewa Central College Mr. W.A. Nimal in his address commended the Tamil Union in taking a raw talent and nurturing and developing him to become the captain of the Sri Lanka Test team. He also paid tribute to Lakmal for his achievements, and said it is an inspiration to all the boys and girls in the school. He concluded by thanking the Tamil Union for making this event a success and for their commitment to develop cricket.
Lakmal in his inspiring address encouraged the students to always march forward and achieve their goals. He expressed his gratitude to the school which had nurtured him, and to the club that has played an integral role in developing him as a cricketer.
Balan Asirwatham in his address emphasized that the Tamil Union which is the venue of the first ever Test match played on Sri Lankan soil has fostered cricket throughout generations irrespective of race and religion and has contributed immensely to the development of Sri Lanka cricket. Presently the Tamil Union operates as the headquarters of the Sri Lanka Women’s team, due to the wide range of facilities available at the club premises, including outdoor turf and cement nets, indoors nets, pool, and gym.
Incidentally, two long standing teammates at Tamil Union C & AC of Suranga Lakmal’s are World record holders in Test cricket. Muttiah Muralidaran the highest wicket taker in Test cricket history (800) and Rangana Herath the highest wicket taking left arm bowler in Test cricket (422).
The 123-year-old Tamil Union C & AC was officially represented by its Patron Former All Ceylon cricketing star Chandra Schaffter, President Ramesh Schaffter, General Secretary Balan Asirwatham, Former President and former Chairman Cricket Dinal Philips and several other club officials, along with members of the current cricket team.
Will India and Pakistan face each other on February 15 in Colombo?
Even as that question hangs heavy like the thick and suffocating Mumbai smog over the T20 World Cup 2026, Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav said his team will travel to Colombo whether the match happens or not.
“Our Mindset is pretty clear,” Suryakumar said at the captains’ media briefing on Thursday in Mumbai. “We did not refuse to play them. The refusal came from them (Pakistan). ICC organised the fixture. BCCI and the Indian government decided to play in neutral venue in coordination with ICC. Our flight to Colombo is booked. So we are going. We’ll see what happens later.”
Defending champions India begin their World Cup campaign on the opening day – February 7 – against USA in Mumbai. India start as firm favourites based on their phenomenal domination in the format in this World Cup cycle. Suryakumar’s team provided further evidence of that on Monday evening in Navi Mumbai where they nudged aside South Africa in the warm-up match. Such form has allowed Suryakumar to be more relaxed and light-hearted during media briefings and same was the case on Thursday.
Asked what the mood in the Indian dressing room was around the Pakistan match, Suryakumar said: “The discussion in the team is ekdum (absolutely) clear. First we play the match on February 7, then we will head to Delhi (Namibia on February 12) and then we will travel to Colombo.”
Suryakumar’s is the first formal response from the India side on the topic, and comes a day after Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said his government had taken a “cons8dered stance” on boycotting the India match and did not want “politics in sport”.
This is the second time in six months Suryakumar has found himself facing questions on how India-Pakistan matches were getting impacted due to the fraught political relations between the two nations, after the Asia Cup controversy last year. The BCCI had instructed the Indian team then to not shake hands with the Pakistan team, at the behest of the Indian government. India then refused to receive the Asia Cup trophy after winning the tournament from ACC president and PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who also declined to hand over the trophy.
Suryakumar said he could not do much about the current situation apart from turning up with his team in Colombo.
“Pakistan’s decision is not in my control,” he said. “I wish I could take that decision. But then it’s their (Pakistan) call. We’ve been told that we have to play on the 15th. We played the Asia Cup, we played three times. We played some good cricket against them. We won. We were happy. And, similarly, if we get an opportunity again in Colombo we will definitely play our game.
“I feel it is not an easy job. I’m sure they must be working out something. But if the boycott has come from the other government or the nation, how can… It is a difficult call for them as well. I know it’ll be a difficult situation. But, as I said, if we are told and the fixtures are ready we will definitely go ahead and play.”
(Cricinfo)
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Delhi Capital’s fourth shot at elusive trophy as Royal Challengers Bengaluru look to make winning a habit
The grand finale of WPL 2026 carries a distinct India-South Africa flavour, much like the World Cup final two months ago. But the epicenter is Vadodara and not Navi Mumbai, the traditional home of Indian women’s cricket. However, that won’t make the occasion any less special.
The marquee names line up symmetrically. Shafali Verma and Jemimah Rodrigues on one side; Smriti Mandhana and Richa Ghosh on the other. Marizanne Kapp and Laura Wolvaardt on one side, Nadine de Klerk on the other.
Threading between these big stars are two high-impact overseas allrounders from West Indies and Australia, each having contributed to their team’s journey to the final in their own way.
Chinelle Henry has been an unheralded star for Delhi Capitals (DC). Her three-for in the Eliminator may have gone unnoticed in the larger scheme of things, but it was as important as Shafali and Lizelle Lee’s opening stand or Rodrigues’ cameo. For Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Grace Harris has filled an even larger void. In Ellyse Perry’s absence, she has become the powerplay enforcer, dominating attacks and setting up games for the likes of Ghosh and de Klerk to finish.
The prospect of these two sides pitted against each other in the final seemed an unlikely prospect even during the auction. Mumbai Indians appeared the obvious front runners, having retained the core that delivered two titles in three seasons.
RCB, meanwhile, were without Perry, and when they opted to replace her with an uncapped Indian fast bowler in Sayali Satghare, fully aware that Pooja Vastrakar would be unavailable for much of the season, the knives were out. Satghare has since become a key strand in RCB’s seam attack.
Thursday’s final also brings a contrast to their journeys to the final. RCB took the route DC did for three seasons running – winning six out of their eight games to top the group. DC have scraped through a sequence of must-win games and will now play their third knockout in five days.
DC are chasing that elusive fourth attempt at glory to help bring silverware to a franchise that is yet to win a major; RCB is looking at making winning titles a habit, attempting a hat-trick of wins (IPL included).
In each of the three previous finals, the winner of the Eliminator has gone on to win the title. Will Thursday be any different?
RCB are likely to back Vastrakar to play as a specialist batter. While she has begun bowling in the nets, a call has been taken to ease her in, given she has returned to competitive cricket after 15 months. Arundhati Reddy’s lack of form is the only other area of concern that could potentially bring in legspinner Prema Rawat into the equation.
RCB (probable): Smriti Mandhana (capt), Grace Harris, Georgia Voll, Richa Ghosh (wk), Radha Yadav, Nadine de Klerk, Pooja Vastrakar, Shreyanka Patil, Sayali Satghare, Arundhati Reddy/Prema Rawat, Lauren Bell
DC are likely to be unchanged. In fact the 13 players they’ve used this season are the fewest resources a team has used across four WPL seasons.
DC (probable): Shafali Verma, Lizelle Lee (wk), Laura Wolvaardt, Jemimah Rodrigues (capt), Marizanne Kapp, Chinelle Henry, Niki Prasad, Sneh Rana, Minnu Mani, Nandani Sharma, N Shree Charani
[Cricinfo]
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