Sports
Gavaskar says Sanga was conscience of cricket during turbulent times
Kumar Sangakkara received his Commemorative cap from Sunil Gavaskar.
by Rex Clementine
Former Indian cricket captain Sunil Gavaskar paying a rich tribute to Sri Lankan great Kumar Sangakkara said he was the ‘conscience of cricket during turbulent times’. Sangakkara was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame last week and Gavaskar, the first man to 10,000 Test runs handed the Commemorative cap to the ex-Sri Lankan captain on Sunday at Rose Bowl during the ICC World Test Championship final.
“Kumar you know, with all these tributes paid to you earlier on, I just want to add mine and say, you have been an exceptional cricketer and during the turbulent times our game faced, you along with Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman to name just three, have been the conscience of international cricket. That’s the highest tribute I can pay you. As I said, our game went through turbulent times and you were there for it. Congratulations and welcome to the ICC Hall of Fame,” Gavaskar said.
Now, Gavaskar did not explain as to what he meant by ‘turbulent times’ but it can be assumed that he was referring to high standards of values that Sangakkara maintained during his unblemished career stretching for 16 years in what was a testing period for the game after corruption in cricket had been exposed.
The manner in which he conducted himself on and off the field, his integrity, unparallelled success as a batsman made him a household name in the sport not only here but all over the world too. Two years ago, MCC broke away from tradition by naming him the first non British President of world’s most prominent cricket club.
“I am Very honoured to get my cap from Mr. Gavaskar. The greatest opener that I have seen. A man of courage and conviction. A man who batted with a piece of plastic on his head against the most fearsome fast bowling attacks and scored most number of hundreds. I can’t be more honoured that I received my cap from him,” Sangakkara said after receiving the cap.
Sangakkara retired in 2015 as the sixth highest run scorer in Test cricket. He said that World T-20 win 2014 in Dhaka was his most memorable moment in the game. “2014 final win was one of my favourites. Tried and failed four times and you know to eventually win an ICC event was special. So many special memories. I am very lucky to have made friends beyond the field of cricket. I have grown up watching the greats of the game and I am hear talking cricket listening to greats of the game,” Sanga added.
At this point, Gavaskar interrupted and said that what’s actually happening was that they were learning from him.
Well read Sangakkara was the recipient of Ryde Gold Medal, the award for the best all-round student at Trinity.
Former England women’s cricketer Isa Guha, who conducted the event too had high praise for Sanga. “We are learning a lot from him. Incredible education. Kumar knows a lot about the game and a lot more on the wider issues in the world as well.”
[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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