Sports

Caught on a sticky wicket, Ranil’s glorious chance to emerge a shining knight

Published

4 years ago

2022/05/15

by Rex Clementine

There are a lot of similarities between Sir Don Bradman and Ranil Wickremesinghe. Both men were immensely gifted. Breaking world records was child’s play for the finest batsman the world has seen, while the smartest politician the nation has seen is on the verge of equalling a world record after becoming the Prime Minister for the sixth time. The record is held by the former leader of the Christian Democratic Party, Giulio Andreotti, who was Italy’s Prime Minister on seven occasions.

Despite all his cricketing brilliance, Bradman was a very vindictive person. The dropping of Keith Miller in 1949 was inexplicable and can be put down to the fact that Bradman had an axe to grind with the greatest all-rounder at that time. Then, there’s also the case of Clarrie Grimmett, Australia’s best leg-spin bowler before World War II. He took 44 wickets in a five-match series in South Africa in 1936 but never played a Test again purely because he had a run-in with Bradman.

Ranil’s case is similar. He may not have had fallouts with party seniors, but he sidelined them fearing a challenge to leadership. Sirisena Cooray, Gamini Jayawickrama Perera and Karu Jayasuriya are cases in point. When the Presidential elections came around with his chances of winning slim, Ranil was more than happy to back an independent candidate rather than supporting someone from within the party for fear of losing the party leadership.

When G.R. Viswanath entered the scene in 1969, the Indian captain at the time, Tiger Pataudi, was quick to realize that this was a precious talent and moved down the batting order to allow the youngster to occupy the premium number four position. India benefited immensely as they never lost a Test match when Viswanath made a hundred. Ranil was never comfortable with such grooming strategies. As a result, the UNP has suffered immense setbacks.

Some are poking fun at our political system, given that Ranil had lost the last Parliamentary elections in an embarrassing fashion. He entered Parliament through the National List and today lives in Temple Trees!

At MCG, a drunk Aussie fan once asked Percy: Is it true that like monkeys, you Sri Lankans live on trees? Uncle Percy replied, ‘Yes, even our Prime Minister lives in Temple Trees!’

For the moment, people will not mind whether the democratic process had been followed or not in selecting Ranil as the PM as there are far worse concerns. Long queues in the quest for essentials and the skyrocketing cost of living loom as the greatest among them. Remember, when the Ashes was slipping away from England in 1981, Alec Bedser didn’t choose the team’s best player to rescue England. Instead, he picked Mike Brearley, one of the best brains in the game. For the record, Brearley never made a hundred in a Test match although he featured in 39 of them.

Like Brearley, Ranil could save our economy.

Brearley wasn’t the only captain cricket’s selectors had thrown into the deep end when faced with a crisis. Having lost the cream of players to Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket in 1977, Australia’s selectors called up Bobby Simpson, who was retired for a decade then, to take up the leadership at the age of 41! Ranil, at the age of 73, is the oldest UNP Prime Minister, older than D.B. Wijetunga.

Now that Ranil has been entrusted with an unenviable task, he better deliver or suffer the fate of Geoff Boycott. England were eyeing a Test win in Christchurch in 1977 but captain Boycott was not helping the team’s cause as he was batting too slow. Ian Botham ran out his skipper and England went on to win. Unless Ranil delivers, and fast, it’s only a matter of time before he too is left stranded. In Boycott’s team, there were many captaincy aspirants like Graham Gooch, Bob Willis, Derek Randall, Bob Taylor and Botham himself. We have plenty in our ranks with Prime Ministerial ambitions like Sirisena, Senaratne, Siripala, Premadasa, Ranawaka, et al.

In previous instances when Ranil took on the baton, he gave up the fight rather meekly after impressive starts.

Mahela Jayawardene, hailed as one of the greatest captains the nation has produced, had a golden opportunity to beat Pakistan 2-0 in a series in 2012 but preferred to settle for a 1-0 win. Instead of going all guns blazing, MJ opted for a handshake, playing it safe in Pallekele where Sri Lanka had the game in hand. Similarly, Ranil took over in 2001 with the economy in dire straits. Having fixed some of the problems the country was facing, he was making significant progress when President CBK clipped his wings by taking over three key ministries. Instead of fighting tooth and nail, Ranil like Mahela took the blow on the chin and merely looked on. The rest, as they say, is history.

A captain needs to have the support of his team. You pity Andrew Strauss, who faced the embarrassment of his own teammate Kevin Pietersen passing on tips to South African fast bowlers by sending text messages in Afrikaans. The South Africa-born Pietersen was a sensation as a batsman but could be a loose cannon if not handled carefully, very much like S.B. Dissanayake. When Ranil appointed Dissanayake as the National Organizer of UNP, eyebrows were raised as SB was a die-hard SLFPer. He was just marking time in UNP, passing on valuable information to the opposition, and made a timely defection. Like Strauss, Ranil suffered in silence. No one else was to be blamed but himself.

Once in power, Ranil tends to develop a close-knit circle full of Royalists who are not much aware of the ground reality. That was also Sanga’s problem. Not that he was pulling for any Trinitians, but he had another weakness, heavily backing players from Perera Gardens. Allegations that the 2011 World Cup final was fixed is a cock and bull story. However, some players in that squad didn’t deserve to be there. Sanga’s agent had a significant say in team selections, very much like Ranil’s loyal Royalists had on the economy. Sanga’s agent and Ranil’s Royalists are a recipe for disaster.

Richie Benaud said that captaincy was the ability to think ahead of the play and not keep responding to what takes place. Ranil has this in abundance as he predicted the economic crisis months in advance. Had he been in power, we could have probably avoided the crisis as well. However, his problem is that like Brian Lara, he is snobbish and his inability to engage lesser mortals becomes a problem.

To his credit, when he was in power, Ranil did try to clean up cricket. Sidath Wettimuny was one of the best Presidents we have had at SLC in many years. Ranil gave his fullest backing when Sidath tried to change the SLC constitution with the backing of the ICC. Alas! Maithripala’s camp comprised those who had interests in cricket as well and they crushed those plans.

Now that Ranil is back, there’s new found hope for both the economy and cricket. He needs to rescue both.

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Harmanpreet Kaur steps down as India captain

Published

10 hours ago

2026/10/6

Priyan

Harmanpreet Kaur's last act as India captain was defending their Asian Games gold medal [BCCI]

Harmanpreet Kaur, who led India to their first women’s global title at last year’s ODI World Cup, has stepped down as captain from all three international formats. She announced her decision via an Instagram post on Tuesday morning. Having given up the captaincy and left the team in a “good place”, she has said she’s now “ready to play for the love of the game again”.

Harmanpreet, 37, led India in five Tests, 51 ODIs and 155 T20Is. Her last act as captain was leading India to their second successive Asian Games gold medal, in Nisshin last month.

The decision came a day after Harmanpreet, India vice-captain Smriti Mandhana and head coach Amol Muzumdar met BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia in Guwahati to discuss the roadmap of the women’s team going forward.

“This is not an easy decision,” Harmanpreet wrote. “It carries years of memories, emotions, sacrifices, and moments that will stay with me for the rest of my life.

“I have given everything I had to this team and to Indian women’s cricket – my blood, my sweat, my time, and many times, a part of my own game and personal ambitions. There were moments when I had to put my individual performance, my own growth, and what I wanted for myself aside, because I believed the team had to come first.

“As a captain, I have had to make difficult decisions. Decisions that were not always understood, not always easy, and sometimes came at a personal cost. But every decision I made was with one intention – to make this TEAM better and to give other players the opportunity to grow, believe in themselves and become the best versions of themselves.”

Murmurs about a possible change in captaincy had been on for a while, especially after India’s second successive group-stage exit from the T20 World Cup in June this year. The selection committee, chaired by Amita Sharma, is understood to have been divided, but Harmanpreet had indicated a desire to lead India at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

“I leave the captaincy today with a heart full of emotions , but also with PEACE,” Harmanpreet said. “Because I genuinely believe My team is in a good place. A team with talent, character, belief and a future that I am incredibly excited to watch and be a part of.

“I feel I have done my duty. I gave this team everything I had. I carried the responsibility with pride, and I will always be grateful for the privilege of leading Indian women’s cricket.

“Now, it is time for me to turn the page. Captaincy may end today, but my love for Indian cricket never will. Thank you to every teammate, coach, support staff, management , BCCI , family members every single fan who stood by me through the highs and lows.”

The noise for Smriti Mandhana to take over has been getting louder in recent months. In the past six months, Mandhana has been vocal about her readiness for the top job, and has given evidence of her credentials by leading Royal Challengers Bengaluru to twin WPL titles (in 2024 and 2026).

Harmanpreet first captained the T20I team in 2012, but it wasn’t until after India’s group-stage exit from their home T20 World Cup in 2016 that she was considered a serious candidate for the role.

In 2018, she led the team to the T20 World Cup semi-finals in the Caribbean after having taken over the role in a full-time capacity from Mithali Raj, and followed it up with a runners-up finish at the T20 World Cup in Australia in 2020.

Harmanpreet’s stepping down as India captain will not, however, change her stance as far as playing the shortest format goes. She is expected to continue leading Mumbai Indians in the upcoming WPL edition as the team chases their third title.

[Cricinfo]

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Rumesh Tharanga among nominees announced for World Athlete of the Year 2026

Published

13 hours ago

2026/10/6

Priyan

The 20 nominees for the World Athlete of the Year honours have been announced ahead of the World Athletics Awards taking place in Monaco on 29 November.

The nominees – selected by an international panel of athletics experts – include 10 for Women’s World Athlete of the Year and 10 for Men’s World Athlete of the Year.

In what has been another sensational year for the sport, the nominations reflect some of the standout performances achieved at the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship and World Athletics Series events held throughout the year, as well as during various one-day meeting circuits, Label road races and other events around the world.

Nominees for 2026 Women’s World Athlete of the Year (in alphabetical order):

Tigest Assefa, Ethiopia
• Won the Berlin Marathon in 2:11:04, the third-fastest time in history
• Won the London Marathon in a women-only world record of 2:15:41

Chase Jackson, USA
• Twice improved the North American shot put record, to 21.02m and 21.14m
• Won the world indoor title and set a Diamond League record to regain the Diamond Trophy

Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, USA
• Won a sprint double at the Ultimate Championship
• Set world leads of 10.62 in the 100m and 21.47 in the 200m, the latter putting her third on the world all-time list

Agnes Ngetich, Kenya
• Won the world half marathon title by 50 seconds in a women-only world record of 1:05:15 and won the world cross-country title by 42 seconds
• Ran world leads of 8:08.95 for 3000m and 28:58 for 10km

Marileidy Paulino, Dominican Republic
• Won the Ultimate 400m title and regained the Diamond League title
• Set a world lead and Diamond League record of 48.48 and remained unbeaten, running under 49 seconds in eight races

Maria Perez, Spain
• Set an inaugural world half marathon race walk record of 1:30:06
• Won the European title by 58 seconds with that world record performance

Camryn Rogers,Canada
• Improved her own North American hammer record with 81.13m, strengthening her place at second on the world all-time list
• Achieved the five best performances in the world and retained the Commonwealth Games title

Masai Russell, USA
• Set a world 100m hurdles record of 12.09 and achieved nine of the 10 fastest times of the season
• Won Ultimate and Diamond League titles as part of an unbeaten season in the 100m hurdles

Aubrey Werro, Switzerland
• Won Ultimate, Diamond League and European 800m titles
• Broke the Diamond League record three times, improving to a world lead of 1:53.70 – putting her third on the world all-time list

Yan Zivi, China
• Threw 71.74m on her season opener, an Asian and world U20 record that puts her second on the world javelin all-time list
• Won Diamond League and Asian Games titles

Nominees for 2026 Men’s World Athlete of the Year (in alphabetical order):

Kenneth Bednarek, USA
• Achieved a sprint double at the Ultimate Championship, winning the 100m in 9.85 and 200m in a world-leading PB of 19.52
• Won the Diamond League 200m title in 19.62

Kristian Ceh. Slovenia
• Won the Diamond League discus title with a Memorial van Damme meeting record of 71.29m
• Retained the European title with a championship record of 72.51m

Andy Diaz Hernandez, Italy
• Won world indoor, Diamond League and European triple jump titles
• Jumped 18.15m to move to fourth on the world all-time list

Allison dos Santos, Brazil
• Set a world 400m hurdles record of 45.80 and won the Ultimate title in 45.98, the third-fastest time in history
• Went undefeated in 11 hurdles races, including the Diamond League Final

Mondo Duplantis, Sweeden
• Improved his world pole vault record to 6.31m
• Won Ultimate, world indoor and European titles

Collen Kebinatshipi, Botswana
• Won the Ultimate 400m title in 43.39, putting him fifth on the world all-time list
• Won the Diamond League title and improved the Diamond League record three times, to a best of 43.40 – one of his six sub-44.00 races, a record for a single season

Josh Kerr, Great Britain and NI
• Set a world mile record of 3:42.66, achieving a world lead of 3:27.62 for his 1500m split
• Won Ultimate 1500m, world indoor 3000m, and Commonwealth Games mile titles

Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage, Sri Lanka
• Won Ultimate, Diamond League, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games javelin titles
• Set a world-leading national record of 92.62m and won 13 of his 14 competitions

Sabastian Sawe, Kenya
• Won the London Marathon in a world record of 1:59:30
• Became the first man to break two hours in a record-eligible marathon

JaKobe Tarp, USA
• Set a world 110m hurdles record of 12.75 at the NCAA Championships
• Won Ultimate and Diamond League titles and broke 13 seconds in six races

An eight-strong panel of statisticians – two members from World Athletics and one from each of the six area associations – selected the nominees. A four-way vote, which closes on Saturday 17 October at midnight CEST, will now determine their final ranking, from first to 10th.

Each of the four voting groups will contribute 25% of the final vote:

• World Athletics fans voting by survey available via the World Athletics app, website and social media channels

• Athletes who have competed at World Athletics Series events during 2026

• Members of the media including TV and radio commentators, written press journalists and content creators who have been accredited at World Athletics Series events in 2026

• World Athletics Family including Council members; commission members; athlete representatives; World Athletics Series event local organising committee chairs; Diamond League, World Indoor Tour Gold and Continental Tour Gold meeting directors; member federation presidents; official partners; and World Athletics staff

The six finalists – three for the women’s World Athlete of the Year award and three for the men’s – will be announced on 10 and 11 November and be invited to Monaco for the World Athletics Awards on 29 November, when each winner will be announced live on stage.

Other awards presented on stage will include the men’s and women’s Rising Star honours, Coach of the Year, the President’s Award and, for the first time, the Moment of the Year award.

[World Athletics]

Sports

Fifty days in Pakistan

Published

22 hours ago

2026/10/6

Sahan Weerasooriya

Sri Lanka’s tour of Pakistan is one of the longest undertaken by the team in recent years. The team will spend 50 days in Pakistan and will play two Tests, three T-20Is and an ODI tri-nation series with England being the third team.

by Rex Clementine

England legend Sir Ian Botham’s famous quip that Pakistan is the sort of place to send your mother-in-law on an all expenses paid holiday was rather unkind. Touch down in Pakistan and you are greeted instead by warmth and affection, with people going out of their way to make you feel at home. Tell them you are from Sri Lanka and more often than not, the conversation quickly begins with one word ‘brother’.

That same hospitality greets you even at the Pakistan High Commission on Buller’s Lane when you turn up for a visa. The first question is not about the purpose of your visit or how long you intend to stay. It is much simpler: tea or coffee?

The Sri Lankan team that flew out to Pakistan on Sunday will experience plenty of that warmth during what promises to be a lengthy stay. It is one of the longest tours undertaken by the national side in recent years, with those involved in all three formats, along with the coaching staff, spending up to 50 days in Pakistan.

The tour comprises three T20Is, a tri-nation ODI series with England as the third participant and two Test matches. There is also a three day warm up game in Islamabad ahead of the Tests.

The current crop of selectors have been largely conventional in their approach, but some of their choices for the white ball squads suggest they are prepared to bare their teeth when required.

The boldest call has been to leave out star leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga, until recently one of the first names on the team sheet. The writing had been on the wall for Hasaranga for some time and it has now emerged that his omission has little to do with injury or form. Instead, the message from those running the show appears fairly straightforward: get your act together.

Pathum Nissanka was overlooked for the T20Is but has been named in the ODI squad subject to fitness. Charith Asalanka has been left out of both formats following a poor run of form, while a couple of youngsters have forced their way in on the back of impressive returns in domestic cricket.

More changes are in store for the two match Test series. ‘The Island’ learns that Dhananjaya de Silva is set to lose the Test captaincy following an unimpressive stint at the helm during the recent home series against India.

Kusal Mendis is expected to take over the Test side on an interim basis, giving him leadership responsibilities across formats, before the selectors settle on a long term choice.