by Rex Clementine

Red flags have been raised over the culture within the Sri Lankan dressing room, with administrators concerned by low energy levels, poor attitudes and even drinking issues among some fast bowlers during the recent series against India.

Test captain Dhananjaya de Silva is expected to get the axe ahead of the next tour of Pakistan, but changing the man at the helm will hardly cure what appears to be a much deeper malaise. More worryingly, there is no obvious successor being groomed for the job.

These problems have not sprung up overnight. They have been simmering for years. Previous administrations either chose to ignore the warning signs or lacked the vision to determine what sort of cricketers Sri Lanka should be producing, not merely in terms of runs and wickets, but character and professionalism.

For men such as Sidath Wettimuny and Roshan Mahanama, who came through an era shaped by administrators of the calibre of Gamini Dissanayake and Killi Rajamahendran, some of what they see today must make uncomfortable viewing.

Sri Lankan cricket has had numerous opportunities to address these issues. Too often, it chose to look the other way.

Take the infamous Covid bubble breach in England. Three players broke protocols, jeopardising not only the tour but the safety of everyone around them. The retired judge who conducted the inquiry noted a lack of remorse and recommended hefty fines and lengthy suspensions.

Sri Lanka Cricket ignored the learned judge’s warning. The board imposed fines but significantly reduced the bans. Once those punishments came into effect, they were watered down further. In the end, the three players effectively walked away with slaps on the wrist.

And what happened a little over a year later? Danushka Gunathilaka was arrested in Australia. A problem that could have been nipped in the bud was instead allowed to grow into a national embarrassment.

Then there is Niroshan Dickwella, one of Gunathilaka’s companions during the Covid bubble breach. Here was a young man blessed with enormous talent, capable of playing some of the most audacious strokes on the fastest pitches in the world. His knowledge of the Laws of Cricket is so sharp that he could put some international umpires to shame. After the Calcutta Test in 2017, none other than Virat Kohli praised his street smart cricket.

Yet Dickwella never fulfilled his potential.

Recently, selectors made a hue and cry about him being the best wicketkeeper in the country. That is hardly news. We know how good a wicketkeeper he is. We don’t need a Gary Kirsten to come and tell us about that. We have seen it all before. The question is what influence he has on younger players in the dressing room.

His suspension following a positive test for cocaine was initially three years before being reduced to three months on appeal. A three year suspension becoming two years would at least be understandable. Three years becoming three months is quite another matter. That is Sri Lanka Cricket for you. Sometimes you wonder whether administrators themselves sit down with Dickwella for a line of cocaine.

There was a time when cricket in Sri Lanka was largely the preserve of society’s elite, with a handful of leading Colombo schools supplying much of the national team. That landscape has changed dramatically and for the better. Today, players emerge from every corner of the island, many from simple middle class families and modest backgrounds.

But that brings its own responsibilities for administrators.

A youngster who has never handled serious money can suddenly find himself with a contract worth US$100,000, endorsement deals and celebrity status. Without proper guidance, it is easy to lose perspective.

Former SLC chief Hemaka Amarasuriya, with his strong corporate background, understood this. He championed the idea of a Cricket Academy at the R. Premadasa Stadium that would teach players on the threshold of international cricket not only the finer points of the game but also how to conduct themselves on and off the field.

Sadly, Amarasuriya’s tenure ended before the plan could be put into practice.

Several years later, Sidath Wettimuny produced a blueprint for a high performance centre equipped with everything modern cricket demanded, a state of the art gymnasium, swimming pools, the latest coaching technology and more importantly life lessons. Once Wettimuny left the board, however, those who followed found other priorities rather than building the infrastructure to bring out a good cricketer and a person.

The often repeated story in cricket circles is that Bangladesh somehow obtained that blueprint and went on to develop similar facilities around the country. Sri Lanka had ideas but repeatedly failed to follow them through. To put it simply, the last decade has been a disaster and we have made little progress.

Much is said about the importance of the democratic process and why elected officials should administer cricket. In theory, that argument is difficult to dispute. In practice, however, the democratic process in Sri Lankan cricket has produced its fair share of the bad and the ugly since the 1996 World Cup triumph.

Government appointed Interim Committees, meanwhile, have on several occasions been called upon to clean up the mess.

Admittedly, politicians subsequently abused that mechanism too, using Interim Committees to accommodate political supporters or individuals unable to win cricket elections. But look at the first three Interim Committees appointed during Chandrika Kumaratunga’s presidency, or indeed the current set up. There is purpose and direction at the moment. Above all, cricket rather than politics or personal agendas come first.

Which brings us back to the dressing room.

Changing captains and coaches will achieve only so much. Sri Lanka must start teaching young cricketers values long before they reach the national side. Discipline, humility, respect for the game, responsibility towards the team and an understanding that wearing the national cap is a privilege cannot suddenly be drilled into someone at the age of 25.

There is far too much selfishness in the modern dressing room. Image and celebrity sometimes appear to matter as much as cricket itself. Too many players seem preoccupied with cultivating a brand rather than building a career. That culture needs to change.

Sanath Jayasuriya attempted to address some of these issues during his stint as Head Coach. What Sri Lankan cricket requires now is a strong figure with unquestioned standing, someone in the mould of Arjuna Ranatunga, who is prepared to establish standards and insist that they are maintained.

At present, there is too much soft pedalling.

Perhaps Sri Lanka should take a leaf out of Rahul Dravid’s book. Start with the Under-19 team. Spend two years shaping young cricketers before they acquire the trappings of international fame. Then move with them to the ‘A’ team for another couple of years before eventually taking charge of the senior side.

By then, many of the boys who started with you at Under-19 level will have graduated to international cricket. They will understand your methods, know your standards and appreciate what you are trying to build.

It is not a quick fix. It may take five years.

Changing the captain may be the easiest decision of all. Changing the culture is the real challenge.

Shonali Dharmasena has been appointed captain of the Sri Lanka basketball team for the Asian Games, which will be held in Japan later this month.

A product of Holy Family Convent, Bambalapitiya, Shonali has excelled for her school across all age groups and has also represented Sri Lanka at Under-19 level in international competitions.

Sport, it seems, runs deep in the Dharmasena family. Shonali’s grandmother, Sofia Dharmasena, was a double international, having represented Sri Lanka in both netball and volleyball.

Her father, Kisan Dharmasena, represented Sri Lanka at Under-19 level in cricket before going on to play first-class cricket for NCC and Tamil Union.

Shonali will now carry that rich family sporting tradition onto a bigger stage as she leads Sri Lanka’s basketball challenge in Japan.

Royal College, Colombo defeated S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia by 72 runs to clinch the school’s Under-17 Division I cricket title at the P. Sara Stadium on Friday.