Sports
From humble beginnings to a billion dollar business
by Rex Clementine
When England cricket bosses discussed the idea of T-20 cricket as a third form of the game in 2003, they would have never imagined the popularity of the game would have soared so high. The format was introduced for one specific reason; the dwindling number of fans in English County Cricket. It was a concern for the authorities and they thought a condensed version of the game with fans enjoying an evening under lights was the best way to bring them back to the game.
Former cricket supremo Jagmohan Dalmiya’s take on T-20 cricket was interesting. Dalmiya showed up at the press box when the 2003 50 over World Cup semi-final involving India was taking place in Durban. Now Dalmiya had just finished his tenure as the President of International Cricket Council and was back with India as the President of BCCI. When a British journalist put through the idea to him during a press conference, the business tycoon from Calcutta said, “You people in England may need another format for the game to infuse interest. But not us in India. When they play a Test match in my backyard at Eden Gardens, there are 100,000 fans inside the ground and 5000 fans outside the ground.”
Now Dalmiya is no fool. At a time when BCCI was paying television companies to telecast Indian cricket it was he who changed the trend by selling Indian television right in 1980s. His dig at England was just his way of sending the message across to Lord’s. Your game maybe struggling to survive but ours is in very good hands.
India wasn’t quick to embrace T-20 cricket. In fact, they had reservations about taking part in the first ever World T-20 in 2007 held in South Africa. There had to be compromises made to ensure that India participated in the event as otherwise the tournament would have been a flop. The money that Indian cricket brings is gigantic. If India tours Sri Lanka for two weeks, the money generated from television rights is good enough to run Sri Lankan cricket for the entire year.
India in fact for the first World T-20 sent a second team under a 25-year-old captain. A certain M.S. Dhoni. The authorities never thought that this will turn the sport upside down. India won the title, in style, beating arch-rivals Pakistan in the finals. It was the first time they had won a global title since Kapil Dev’s side had won the 50 over World Cup in 1983. There was no looking back.
Around this time, the Indian board had a dynamic official by the name of Lalit Modi. Politically, Modi was powerful. He supported BJP and was known as the ‘Super Chief Minister’ of Rajastan.
Modi had studied Business Administration in the United States. It was in the US he had got a first taste of franchise sport. He tried to implement the same in India and the IPL was born.
IPL started in 2008 involving the world’s best players. The event also promoted young Indian cricketers. Suddenly you found players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli just out of Under-19 cricket sharing dressing rooms with the likes of Sanath Jayasuriya, Adam Gilchrist, Kumar Sangakkara, Chris Gayle and all world’s biggest stars. Indian cricket never looked back.
The ICC buoyed by the success of the inaugural World Cup made it a biannual event.
Sri Lanka had been very good at innovation and they were a hit in T-20 cricket winning bilateral series consistently and performing so well in ICC events. They reached the finals in 2009, 2012 and 2014 and won the event in Dhaka seven years ago.
The retirement of several seniors saw Sri Lanka struggling, especially in the shorter formats of the game. But the same seniors have now returned to help cricket in an advisory capacity and their game is looking to overcome the challenges.
[Cricbuzz]
Former Sri Lanka head coach Mickey Arthur has voiced disappointment over remarks made by Chairman of Selectors Pramodya Wickramasinghe, who last week claimed that Arthur was reluctant to include a young Pathum Nissanka during Sri Lanka’s tour of the Caribbean in 2021.
In his first media briefing, Wickramasinghe said it was he who pushed for Nissanka’s inclusion despite Arthur’s reservations. The former coach has flatly denied the allegation, calling it wide of the mark.
“I am very disappointed with Pramodya’s comments,” Arthur told Telecom Asia Sport. “The right people know exactly how I felt about Pathum. There was never any doubt that he was our future. I don’t want any credit for Pathum’s success. That belongs entirely to his hard work. I simply gave him an opportunity because the talent was impossible to ignore.”
Arthur said Nissanka’s domestic form had left little room for debate. “He was scoring runs for fun and the sheer weight of them made it impossible not to take a look. Once he joined the squad on tour, his attitude and work ethic were truly remarkable. From that moment, there was no doubt this bloke was going places,” Arthur added.
Even before Nissanka’s elevation to the senior side, Arthur had publicly spoken of his admiration for young prospects such as Nissanka and Charith Asalanka, stressing the importance of giving emerging players a long rope. His view was simple: once talent is identified and the attitude checks out, selectors and team management must back those players through thick and thin.
Arthur arrived in Sri Lanka with a formidable résumé, having coached South Africa, Australia and Pakistan. He placed a premium on fitness and fielding and under his watch a team in transition began to show signs of turning the corner. At the end of his tenure, Arthur opted not to renew his contract and instead took up a stint in English county cricket with Derbyshire.
As for Nissanka, he has scarcely put a foot wrong since breaking into the side. There was a Test hundred on debut in the West Indies, followed last year by a match-winning unbeaten century against England at The Oval on a lively seaming pitch. In between, he made history by becoming the first Sri Lankan to score a double hundred in ODIs. Last week, he was snapped up by Delhi Capitals at the IPL auction.
Nissanka is currently ranked third in T20 internationals and is knocking on the door of the top ten in both Tests and ODIs.
73rd National Badminton Championship
Defending champions Viren Nettasinghe and Ranithma Liyanage made a fitting end to their campaigns of the 2025 season, by defending the Men’s and Women’s Open Singles titles as Varangana Jayawardana and Rashmi Mudalige clinched the Women’s Open Doubles title at the 73rd National Badminton Championship, concluded at the S. Thomas’ College Indoor Sports Complex, Mount Lavinia on Wednesday (24).
Viren clinically overcame each of his opponents from the Round of 32, all in straight sets, to reach the final. The country’s top Men’s Singles shuttler continued his form against Rasindu Hendahewa in the final, winning in straight sets to defend the title. Viren defeated Rasindu 21-10 and 21-14 to win his second national title in style.
Ranithma aptly defended her Women’s Open Singles title by recording a comfortable straight sets win against Rashmi Mudalige in an absorbing final that lasted nearly 45 minutes. Though the title decider stretched way longer than anticipated, Ranithma managed to seal the victory by recording set wins of 21-12 and 21-18 to claim the national title for the second year running.
Fourth seed pair Sanuda Ariyasinghe and Thisath Rupathunga created an upset by toppling top seeds Oshamika Karunarathne and Thulith Palliyaguru in a lengthy final that went down to the wire in the Men’s Open Doubles. Sanuda and Thisath won the first set 21-15, but the top pair bounced back to level the game one-all with a 21-18 win. But the gritty pair of Sanuda and Thisath maintained their composure to overcome the favourites 21-15 in the decider and claim the Men’s Open Doubles title.
Varangana Jayawardana and Rashmi Mudalige completed a successful campaign to defend the Women’s Open Doubles title from last year, this time overcoming the aspiring pair of Dilni Ambalangodage and Ranumi Manage in straight sets. Varangana and Rashmi remained unbeaten throughout, as they ended the unblemished run of Dilni and Ranumi with set wins of 21-13 and 21-18.
The Mixed Open Doubles title was claimed by Thulith Palliyaguru and Panchali Adhikari, who battled for 45 minutes to overcome Aashinsa Herath and Rashmi Mudalige 2-1 in the final. After conceding the first set by 12-21, Thulith and Panchali regrouped to claim the next two sets 21-18 and 21-15.
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