Sports

Shan: Legend to most; simple brother to me

Published

5 years ago

2021/10/27

Ironically my first association with Shan was not as a teammate but as an opponent in 1983.

Called in by Kandy Sports Club at the end of the school season to take on newly crowned A Division Champions CH in the knockout tournament at Nittawela, whereas a naive schoolboy I was told my task was partly to “take care” of Shan Perera head on, in order to not provide him any space, not realizing there weren’t many takers at Kandy who wanted that job. I can’t remember how many times I “took him on” that wet muddy evening but Kandy ended CH’s campaign that evening for the double.

Not too long after that, I found myself playing in between Simon Hunter and Shan Perera at CH; a baptism into the big league that young rookie players could only dream of. The opportunity although not fully appreciated at the time because it was “normalized” and not seen as me playing with legends, without doubt, accelerated my progress as a player and shaped me into the player I went on to be.

Shan from thereon was an integral part of my life as a fellow teammate, mentor, and big brother; a friendship that went into its fourth decade at the time of his passing.

The last few years of his life were hard on Shan, and to us his band of brothers it was difficult to watch this colossus of a man reduced to the condition his illness had taken him; but Shan fought it without complaint, with his usual inimitable nonchalant style which reflects on the man he was.

But his final years are not what I will remember of Shan. It will only ever be over a decade of watching his prowess on the field at Maitland Crescent, the years playing for our country, and the simple human being he was, irrespective of his superstar status. I saw all of this from the best seat in the house literally right next to him on the field.

It might not be known that Shan originally never picked CH as the default team to play for on his return from the UK in the very late 70s. When looking for a club to play for he was directed to Havelocks, and by a simple twist of fate the cab driver on being asked to take him to the park club mistakenly dropped him off at the steps of the crescent club. And as they say, the rest is history.

Shan went on to become a legend of the game but his talent was not limited to his abilities with the oval-shaped ball. Shan opened the bowling in first-class cricket for a few seasons as well in Sri Lanka and without a day’s proper athletic training turned up for the nationals and came second in the 100 meters losing only to the national sprint record holder at the time. Shan was never ambitious for himself be it anything he did in his life. If he was I am certain he could well have been a triple international for Sri Lanka with the uncanny talent he possessed.

Shan was also not conventional. his legendary “nikan inna bari exercises”; NIBX which he aptly went on to call them were an integral part of the psyche of the CH team during the golden years at the club. How can one forget that in the huddle before the team ran out to battle he would call for a thumb bending exercise drill or call a highly charged testosterone tongue exercise drill which brought out the best “imaginary fantasies” of the youthful boys in the team. To most, they were fun and games but Shan had the ability to relax and bring together the boys and focus us as ONE with these unconventional Shan centric mind games. I never failed a wry smile many moons later when I saw him working as a professional trainer when I passed the club and saw him take many through their paces in the scorching hot sun.

Shan was also a gentle giant. I don’t think I have ever seen Shan lose his temper or get excessively agitated on the field let alone off it. If a teammate irritated him or took the mickey out of him his most irate response would be “umbe amma kalu da“. An irony not lost by the fact, that to the boys at CH he was our “kalu sudda“. Not many understood him in the team and that I would more often than not have to interpret what he said to some of the boys especially to the front five ones. How many times would I have heard him say “A BEE” which he called me all through our association “tell those idiot props” what I said.

A gentle giant story I learned the hard way was when we took on Havelocks in a President’s trophy game. After an altercation I had with Salu Salu he chased me around the park to knock my head in. Shan being the strongest and best physical specimen in the team I ran next to him with the assurance he would protect me; but Shan in his laid back way whistled and said “A BEE just keep running” ……it did not end well for me .

There are many stories about Shan. They are countless and go far beyond the legend he was to all who loved and supported him for the player he was. To us, at the Club he was a big brother and to me, he was literally that, notwithstanding that to many who did not know better thought we were brothers, as they saw an uncanny resemblance in our appearance.

Shan will live forever among his band of brothers at CH. He is one of the greatest who ever walked the hallowed rugby fields of Sri Lanka but to us he is far more than that. He is one of the nicest and most simple guys you would ever meet and know. He was a good friend. He was a brother.

To plagiarize Pepper Potts words to Tony Stark in Marvels End Game.

“Shan; you can rest now”.

Rohan Abeykoon

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Latest News

Davis cup Asia/Oceania Group IV 2026 to be held in Colombo from 20th to 25th July

Published

33 mins ago

2026/07/18

Priyan

The Sri Lanka team for the Davis cup Asia/Oceania Group IV 2026 from left Ganuka Perera, Thehan Wijemanne, Rukmal Cooray (Manager), Sanka Athukorala (Coach and non playing captain), Saha Kapilasena , Apna Perera (pics by Kamal Wanniarachchi)

The world cup of tennis, the Davis cup Asia/Oceania Group IV 2026 will be held in Sri Lanka from the 20^th to the 25^th of July 2026 at the Sri Lanka Tennis Association (SLTA) courts. This tournament is held under the guidance of World Tennis, is the main team event for the male tennis players of the world.

There will be seven nations participating in the event to be held in Colombo. The teams being Iraq, Northern Mariana Islands, Qatar, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyztan, Kuwait and the host country Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lanka team for the tournament comprises of Apna Perera, Thehan Wijemanna, Ganuka Fernando and Saha Kapilasena making up the team with a blend of youth and experience with Mineth Navarathna being the stand by player. The team is coached by the experienced Sankha Athukorala with Lakshan Wijerathna being the physio/ Masseur of the team. The manager of the team is Rukmal Cooray.

The seven teams will be divided into two groups. One group of three teams and the other one of four teams. Matches will be played in the round robin format in the initial stages and the top two teams from the two groups will compete in cross over matches. The two winners will be promoted from this event. The third placed teams from the two groups will play a demotion play off match. The loser will be demoted. The team which finishes in the 4^th place in the group of four will automatically be demoted. As such two teams will be promoted and two teams will be demoted.

Official practice days are the 20^th and the 21^st of July and the matches will be held from the 22^nd to the 25^th of July.

The captain’s meeting and the draw for the tournament will be held at the SLTA on Tuesday the 21^st at 10.00 am, while the opening ceremony of the event is expected to be held on Wednesday the 22^nd of July at 9 30 am on the Center court.

The balls for the event will be Wilson US Open, with Trident Distributors, the official partner for Wilson sporting goods in Sri Lanka coming on board as the official ball suppliers for the event. Apart from this, Trident Sports under the guidance of Yasser Farook, the managing director has come on board as the official apparel partner for the Sri Lanka team as well.

All teams will be staying at the Cinnamon Lakeside hotel with Cinnamon Lakeside hotel coming on board as the official hospitality partner for this tournament. Dushyantha Tittawella, the General manger of the hotel is pulling out all the stops to make sure that the teams have a comfortable stay whilst they are in Sri Lanka.

Perera and Son bakers limited will be the official food and beverage partner for the tournament and will be in charge of making sure that the players’ needs are met throughout this event.

The tournament Director is Dinith Pathiraja and has S Thevanesan as his assistant.

Wan Xianling of China is the referee for the event and Dharaka Ellawala being his deputy. There are six Chair umpires who have been appointed with two of them being Sri Lankans, namely Anjana De Silva and Chamod Rupassara. Jeyachandirun Saarangan is the Chief of Umpires and Adheesha Paranagama, Prageeth Polgampola, Pasindu Sampath and Yumira Kuruppu rounding up the tournament staff for the event with Mrs Nipuni Maheshika being the safeguarding officer and the UNO official for the tournament.

The SLTA president Iqbal Bin Issack with General Secretary Pradeep Goonasekera have been advising and looking into all the arrangements to make this tournament a success.

From left: Dinith Pathiraja (Tournament Director, Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group IV Event), Iqbal Bin Issack (President, Sri Lanka Tennis Association (SLTA)), Yasser Farook (Managing Director, Trident Distributors (Wilson Agents in Sri Lanka), Pradeep S. Goonasekera (General Secretary, Sri Lanka Tennis Association (SLTA)), Rukmal Cooray (Vice President, Sri Lanka Tennis Association (SLTA))

From left : Dinith Pathiraja (Tournament Director, Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group IV Event), Iqbal Bin Issack (President, Sri Lanka Tennis Association (SLTA)), Dushyantha Tittawella (General Manager, Cinnamon Lakeside), Pradeep S. Goonasekera (General Secretary, Sri Lanka Tennis Association (SLTA)), Rukmal Cooray (Vice President, Sri Lanka Tennis Association (SLTA))

(PDES)

Sports

Malinga, Asalanka seal Galle Gallants win in LPL opener

Published

2 hours ago

2026/07/18

Priyan

Eshan Malinga rocked Jaffna Kings with three wickets in his first two overs (Cricbuzz)

Sixty five runs off 38 balls with seven boundaries and three sixes by Charith Asalanka and a four wicket haul by Eshan Malinga helped Galle Gallants defeat Jaafna Kings by 36 rums in the opening game of the Lanka Premier League played at the SSC on Friday (17 July).

Scores:

Galle Gallants 213/6 in 20 overs (Sam Harper 40, Charith Asalanka 65, Mehidy Hasan Miraz 10, Sahan Arachchige 35, Dasun Shanaka 31*, Mohamed Nawaz 21; David Weise 1-45, Dunith Wellalage 1-10, Lizaad Williams 2-28, Piyush Chawla 2-43)

Jaffna Kings 177 in 19.4 overs (Avishka Fernando 34, Kamil Mishara 28, Dunith Wellalage 40, David Weise 15, Chamindu Wickremasinghe 24; Dasun Shanaka 1-28, Akif Javed 2-31, Eshan Malinga 4-26, Charith Asalanka 1-04, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth 1-24)

Latest News

Garry Sobers dies, aged 89

Published

15 hours ago

2026/07/17

Priyan

Sir Garry Sobers the legendary West Indies allrounder and one of the sport’s most towering icons, has died at his home in Barbados. He was 89 years old.

Widely regarded by many as the greatest allrounder and most gifted cricketer to have played the game, Sobers excelled as Test batter, could bowl left-arm pace as well as orthodox and wrist-spin, and he was an exceptional fielder and close-in catcher – attributes that once led his fellow all-timer, Sir Donald Bradman, to describe him as a “five-in-one cricketer”.

Sobers played 93 Test matches for West Indies between 1954 and 1974, scoring 8032 runs at an average of 57.78 and took 235 wickets at an average of 34.03. He also captained West Indies in 39 Tests between 1965 and 1972, winning nine and losing 10. The ICC’s premier annual award in men’s cricket – the Sir Garfield Sobers Award – is named in his honour and recognises the most outstanding overall performer in men’s international cricket across all formats.

Sobers made his first-class cricket debut at the age of 16, against the touring India team in January 1953, and excelled with four first-innings wickets to help his side enforce the follow-on. His Test debut followed a year later, against England in Jamaica, where he scored 14 and 26 from No.9 and took 4 for 75 in England’s first innings.

He played his initial Tests as a bowler, but at the age of 23 he scored his maiden Test hundred and also broke Len Hutton’s world record for the highest individual Test score by making 365 against Pakistan at Sabina Park in 1958. It was a record that stood until 1994, when it was broken by Brian Lara, an achievement Sobers was on hand to witness and celebrate.

A decade after that record-breaking innings, Sobers became the first cricketer to hit six sixes in an over in first-class cricket – off Glamorgan’s Malcolm Nash – while playing for Nottinghamshire in Swansea. His first-class career comprised 383 matches for West Indies, Barbados, Nottinghamshire and South Australia and he amassed 28,314 runs at an average of 54.87 and took 1043 wickets at an average of 27.74.

While Sobers played 95 List A games, his international career had wound down by the advent of ODIs and he played only one international in that format – against England at Headingley in 1973. He was knighted for his services to cricket in 1975, and in 2000, he was named as one of Five Cricketers of the Century by Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack, alongside Bradman, Sir Jack Hobbs, Sir Viv Richards and Shane Warne.

Born in Barbados in 1936, Sobers was the fifth of six children, and was raised primarily by his mother after his merchant-seaman father died during the Second World War in 1942. He was born with six fingers on each hand – the extra digits were removed in his childhood – and he excelled in all sports, including basketball, football and golf.

In a statement on behalf of Cricket West Indies, the board president, Dr. The Hon. Kishore Shallow, described Sobers as the “greatest cricketer the world has ever seen”, and offered his “heartfelt condolences to his family, the Government and people of Barbados and all those across the world who mourn his passing.

“There are moments in the story of a people when the life of one individual becomes woven into the hopes, dreams, and identity of generations,” Swallow added. “Today, the Caribbean mourns the passing of such an individual … His mastery of batting, bowling and fielding was unparalleled, but his true significance reached far beyond the boundary ropes.

“He emerged from the Caribbean at a time when our region was finding its voice and asserting its place on the world stage. Through his excellence, he gave millions across our islands and in the diaspora, a renewed belief in what was possible. He showed that greatness was not confined by the size of our nations, the geography of our islands or the circumstances of our beginnings.

“Sir Garfield Sobers became more than a sporting icon. He became a symbol of Caribbean excellence, resilience, and possibility. His achievements brought pride to Barbados, inspiration to the West Indies and admiration from every corner of the cricketing world.”

(Cricinfo)