World Cup 2007: Afterthoughts

Disappointed? Not exactly. We may have lost the game but still it has left us with all the more reasons to be happy about.

Afterthought

What an eventful day it was? Rain delaying play until it was quite a boring task to sit in front of the TV for the first ball to be delivered; Gilchrist taking the game away from the Sri Lankans with superb batting; Weather teasing Sri Lankans throughout the second innings as though nature was disturbingly overwhelmed by the incessant prayers of the Sri Lankan supporters; and amidst all these, the LTTE roaming the Colombo skies for the sweetest target for their fireworks.

Ok, about the match…

It was nothing but pure professional cricket from a pure professional side. A thoroughly deserved win from the Aussies. Nevertheless, it should be mentioned that Gilchrist took the game away from the Sri Lankans single-handedly. A fabulous, ruthless innings and a treat for the spectators, be it from any side. Though it is true that being Sri Lankans we tend to despise the Aussies and would hardly be able to appreciate any achievement from their part, the innings by Gilchrist should be able to win some applaud from the Sri Lankan fans as well.

It was a contrasting performance from the Sri Lankans in the context of the rest of the tournament. Bowling was quite mediocre and Mahela’s captaincy seemed to be facing its ultimate test on the face of Gilchrist onslaught. The decision to include Dilhara who showed a dismaying performance in the semi finals ahead of Maharoof will come under significant criticism in the days to come. The dodgy tactics to keep Vaas and Murali away from the previous game against the Aussies didn’t seem to work for the best as they hoped.

After all, 282 was a bit too much for the Sri Lankans. A twilight of hope seemed to creep in as Sanath and Sanga were batting but it too was a dying hope in the face of Aussie attack and the unsupportive nature standing against a Sri Lankan win. And as the records speak, the champions eventually won the battle defeating the underdogs.

All said and done, the Sri Lankans should be proud of their team for doing so well in the tournament and fighting till the last minute for a much hoped glory. It should not be the commonplace case where players are appreciated for their continuous victories and degraded in the event of a single defeat. We are not them “the neighbors”. We are Sri Lankans. So let us welcome our boys with the due appreciation they deserve.

A Lame Sri Lankan Conduct

Now for the bitter stuff… It’s true that cricket is a passion in Sri Lanka. We are the most enthusiastic and passionate supporters of the game, may be second only to the Indians. But it was very denouncing to observe an abundance of superstitious statements, blind religious conducts and verbal slaughtering of the Aussies from the media as well as the simpletons in the country. It seems that some of the Sri Lankans undermined the Aussies and assumed Sri Lankans to be the world champions even before the game started.

Interestingly, very little was heard if not none regarding such overwhelming behavior from the Aussie fans as opposed to Sri Lankans. A dozen patriotic songs were composed prior to the finals and was quite a disturbance at times. Several pictures of Mahela holding the cup alone were published in the printed media. An incessant tide of rituals was performed in temples, churches and mosques. The media requested the people to light an oil lamp in every household to impart “Vishva Shakthi”(whatever that means) to the players, as one TV presenter put it. Desperate sounds of firecrackers every time a boundary was scored even though they refused to admit that it was a lost cause after the first part of the second innings. And above all, the conduct of the Rupavahini TV presenter and the elite panel, raving about crushing Aussies before the start of the game as though the outcome of this most uncertain game of cricket was pretty darn certain to them.

It was just another game. Aussies seemed to grab the gist of it. While the Sri Lankan supporters were bothering and pleading the gods to besiege the ground the Aussies were playing beach volleyball. It seemed that every prayer was targeted to winning the game that no one had the consciousness to pray for clear weather. What the Sri Lankan supporter failed to realize was that no amount of patriotism or prayers could outdo the talent of the individuals in such a battle.

While being proud of our boys’ efforts and their conduct I’m thoroughly disgusted of the lame behavior of the Sri Lankan fans prior to the finals. They acted too much on it. Let this be a good lesson to all those who prayed for supernatural powers to win the game ahead of the talents of our players. Let this be a good lesson to all those who undermined the Aussies, assumed the glory before it was achieved and by doing so exerted huge pressure on our team.

BTW, Mahinda, Please stay at home next time.

I’m Sri Lankan and I’m proud of our team.

My "One Before The Last" on World Cup

A few more hours to go till the hopes of two nations, rested upon twenty two players, struggle to stay alive on a twenty two yard strap of earth.

I wish not to produce another analytical post on the WC, those which obviously have not been any less during the last month wherever you see, but to divert the readers’ attention towards some other things I think that has not yet been spoken about.

Role of Gods in Today’s Game

Leading on to the finals of the cricket world cup 2007, we Sri Lankans observed a myriad of religious activities that have been taking place throughout the island for the last two days. The large numbers of Bodhi Poojas in temples, the masses in churches and the offerings in the Hindu mosques have all added up to the measure of how much this nation craves for another world cup win. In the middle of all these, I’m baffled to hear contrasting yet logical views of certain people who seem to defy, not to mention mock, the behavior of Sri Lankans leading to the world cup. So the obvious question is; to what extent do we depend on gods in winning the battle?

A crazy idea, isn’t it? Well, to the amusement of rather atheistic people I came across (including certain people I happen to know personally and which I must admit that I fall into the 75% - 100% category), there won’t be any space for the players on the ground tomorrow. According to them, 330 thousand thousand gods (tis tun kotiyak devi devathavun) from Buddhism and all the other gods from other religions will flock together hovering over the ground to watch after over boys and to scare the **** away from the Aussies.

To my belief, there’s nothing wrong in engaging in such religious activities in the hope of wishing good luck for our players, not just in the WC finals, but in any match they participate. What amazes me is how much Sri Lankan people still blindly follow certain “religious” rituals which fundamentally defy the very religion they believe in and how much they expect from gods in fulfilling their temporal needs. To take an example from Buddhism, we witness an abundance of pleadings from gods I’ve never even heard of, promising to return the favor of making our boys the champions. The so called Baara Haara (promising an offering in return to a favor granted by god) are fundamentally against Buddhism yet today it’s the Buddhists who practice this more than any other religion in Sri Lanka. The worst thing is that when their need is fulfilled by some other means they take it for granted that their pleading has been answered and thus it confirms their belief even more. In this case, if the Sri Lankans are to win today (which I honestly wish will happen) purely due to the talent and planning of our team, there would be thousands who would claim that it was due to fact that their prayers and pleadings were in fact answered by gods themselves.

In the end it all comes down to talent and how the day turns out for the players. Gods’ intervention would hardly matter if the opponents are far ahead in talents and tactics. Wonder how the Australian citizens prepared for the big day???

The Rising Pressure

Though it is much stated in the wider media of this encounter being an even battle, the apparent pressure of such a big game, to my view would effect the Sri Lankans than the Aussies. First of all, the expectations are high on the Sri Lankan camp as most of those who are not Australian would be hoping for a Sri Lankan victory. The whole of Asia will be expecting their neighbor to bring the trophy to the continent. Second of all, the notion that the Aussies have not been beaten in a world cup encounter since the 1999 WC must be playing a part in the minds of the Sri Lankan players as well as it should encourage the Aussies even more. And interestingly, the fact that the Sri Lankans are playing in front of their President should add even more pressure in the side.

However, nerves will be high in both teams. Aussies would be eyeing to be victorious for the third consecutive time and our boys will be hoping to fulfill the hopes of everyone who is dying to see the pattern breaking and bringing the trophy back home.

Good Luck Boys!!!

Lion Cubs [pics]

“Friends” – the Best Sitcom Ever

Not a very happy post at all. I’ve just finished watching the Friends TV series – the best sitcom ever. The TV series had been around for ten years when it telecasted its final episode in 2004. It was telecasted in Sri Lanka by a certain channel but I never got to watch all of it. So I’ve downloaded the complete 10 seasons, watched them all during the past few months and now I’m emotionally disturbed that it had to end.

Without doubt, it is the best TV series I’d ever watched and I would hardly say that any other sitcom would ever take its place. The amazing combination of friendship, love, romance and laughter that was weaved around the six characters is just too much to say goodbye to. All the group hugging, all the I’ll-be-there-for-you stuff and all the merry moments of a group of friends through a time span of ten years just makes everyone see how beautiful this life is. The intricate work of its writers and actors to bring about some of best scenes in sitcom television ever, puts Friends in an unparallel position in its category. I’m just running out of words to describe how enjoying the experience has been for me.

Anyone who has missed it, I’d say you miss a lot. Just download it and watch. It’ll make you laugh, it’ll make you cry but above all – it’ll make you see what friendship really is.

Their Side of the Story

How true is the truth we know? How do we know the truth we know is actually the truth itself or something that is made a truth by someone else?

The raging war between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan army is an ideal place to put this suspicion into test and as such has always been an issue for open criticism. The people in the south are dependant on the news brought to them by national and private media to establish their judgments on the actions of the two parties. On the other hand, we occasionally, compared with the frequency with which we receive the news from the media, hear the contrasting tale of a person who would actually happen to be in the hot spot. The difference between first hand experience and the follow up news are more than likely two sides of the river. But again, how do we decide which is true and which is not?

They say a picture speaks a thousand words. Well, it may also attract a thousand comments. My recent post (well, hardly a post, just four links to four pictures) on a cricket fan in the recent SL Vs AUS match running around the ground with an LTTE flag seemed to attract some serious attention and to my amazement received a comment which I thought was rather awkward (awkward, abnormal, surprisingly thought provoking - tag it anything you want) in a group of one sided arguments. Kay, who claims to be a guy raised in Jaffna, concisely has penned what seems to be his side of the story. The following is his complete comment.

It is very unfortunate that many of you have chosen a side in this war without knowing both sides of the story. Someone once said that truth is the first casuality of war. As a tamil raised in Jaffna, I couldn't have said it better.

Some of you sound very sincere in your belief that the LTTE are terrorists and are not fighting for peace. Now I ask you, do you believe that the SL government is fighting for peace? Do you believe that if the LTTE chose to put down their weapons today, the tamils will be able to live in peace in a truly democratic society? Do you believe there's no discrimination against tamils in Sri Lanka?

Have any of you actually seen war? Most of you probably rely on the Media for your information but who controls the media? Ask questions. Try to see both sides of the story. One site that I've seen come close to the truth of what I experienced in real life is www.tamilnet.com. Of course, most of you would probably dismiss it as LTTE propaganda, but would you belive me if I said this is what I saw and heard when I lived in Jaffna?

It is very easy to pass judgement on events that we have not personally experienced. The only ones who can speak truthfully of this war are those who exprienced it first hand. If any of you get the chance, ask someone from the north or the east for their side of the story. Then chose your side.

It would be irrational to come to a conclusion that Kay’s views represent those of all the people from Jaffna or any other war-hit area in the North and the East. Though we have seen these sorts of opinions emerging from people who are residents in these areas, this would hardly qualify for a generalization. His logical question of the credibility of the news about these areas that we receive here in the South, however, is definitely an issue that has been attracting different views.

However, in my perspective it was not on the information provided by the media that the people have established their judgments of LTTE to be a terrorist organization. The mere experience of atrocities committed by the LTTE in the south is sufficient for the people, the normal citizens in this country like me, to draw an image of the LTTE and its course of action. The history of bombings targeting innocent civilians, the assassination of national leaders, the mass murders, the use of child solders in battles etc. all provide the necessary substance for the people in the south to cast the LTTE as a terrorist organization. (View this video for e.g.)

So in essence, while disagreeing to Kay’s comments in general regarding LTTE not being a terrorist organization, I feel this would open up for a conversation for the above suspicion. So let me raise the questions clearly again. How credible is the news we receive through the media on this storming war and its parent, the ethnic conflict? Truly, how contrasting are the views of the south to those of the north?

PS: By the time I submit this post, sittingnut had written two interesting comments on my previous post. I invite you all to read them as well.

LTTE Cricket Fan at the SL Vs AUS Match[pics]

Check out these links. Will give you a lot to think about. Comments are welcome.

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Lions Vs Kangaroos - Did we miss something???

It’s 34 for 3 wickets (at the time of writing) and the Sri Lankans are struggling and struggling badly.

The encounters with the Aussies have always been tough yet no other match against any other opposition is as enthralling as with the Aussies. Tough games should be fought with the optimum power that can be used. In that sense, has Sri Lanka got it all wrong?

Yes, I’m talking about leaving Vaas and Murali out of today’s game. The experts see it as a meticulously crafted trick by the selectors, but to my little cricketing knowledge it’s a big mistake.

How stupid is to leave Vaas and Murali, Sri Lanka’s two prime time bowlers, in a match against the world champions? Resting: what’s that? If they want to rest them let them do it in the next game with the Irelands. Why risk a perfectly even battle and give the Aussies the upper hand from the very beginning of the match? It was guaranteed that a Sri Lanka Vs Australia match would invite the biggest interest in the whole tournament. But with two of our best bowlers “rested” and a mediocre performance from the top order, it’s turning out to be another low scoring, boring and one sided battle. On the side line, it should be mentioned that the Aussies always fought with their full team, even against the Irelands. Some may argue that Sri Lanka has already booked their place in the Semi finals, but so has the Aussies.

Imagine what a win against the Aussies today can do to the spirit of the team? A win against the world champions before going into the semi finals would be a huge boost for the overall team. So, is it the case that tomorrow morning most of us would say “Had we fought with our full might, we would have given a great fight”? Is it arrogance (or stupidity) that put us in a spot of bother today?

I candidly hope that I’ll be able to smile in the dawn tomorrow; with a Sri Lankan win of course.

Tuesday Morning

I was right , wasn't I?

Sri Lanka hide their cards for bigger hands

Jayawardene defends resting stars

A baffling selection

Bad Stars…. Really?

See whether you find this humorous.

Sri Lankan astrologers warn of "bad stars"
Sunday, April 15, 2007, 6:49 GMT, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.

Apr 15, Colombo: Sri Lankan astrologers have stirred up anxieties among politicians as well as the general public by warning of an evil period of time to come.

The so-called evil period was expected to begin yesterday with the dawn of the Sinhala and Tamil New Year and will reportedly last at least until the middle of July.

Some famous astrologers anticipate a controversial time in politics in the coming months as well as more chaos and bloodshed.

How much more evil can fall upon us in the future? To me, this has always been the case with Sri Lanka. It’s just stating the obvious. Too bad it took astrologers this long to figure that out. Any simple person in this country would confirm that evil has been here ever since the politicians started ruining this country and NO, it won’t stop in the middle of July. Not until a major political cleansing would take place. Politics in Sri Lanka is the only evil we have to face.

Sirasa - “Wasanthaye Cinema Dasanthaya”

The BEST TV channel in Sri Lanka, Sirasa TV, takes pride in presenting you the “Wasanthaye Cinema Sanakeliya” for its smart and sophisticated viewers scattered around the country. Very little should be said about how much the school children, spending their vacation, will benefit from this series of movies. It is very commendable how much Sirasa thinks about adding value to the society. Without doubt these are the BEST movies ever produced in Sri Lanka. Here’s the line up from April 09^th to 20^th.

• Cheerio Sergeant
• Hai Hooi Boby Achchi
• Love 2002
• Kauda Bole Alice?
• Nawa Gilunath Ban Choon
• Pissu Pooso
• Pissu Double
• Pissu Trible (I’m sure it’s not triple)
• Numba Naadan Apita Pissu
• Hitha Honda Pisso
  

It should be appreciated how much Sirasa contributes to build up the aesthetic taste of the people in this country. No other channel does this much good to our people. Sirasa Rocks!

And they ask why I hate Sirasa…..

President’s Tour of Rome: Another Jumbo Delegation???

My recent adamant decision to withhold commenting about Sri Lankan politics in this blog seems to be shattering again. For over a month, I’ve decided to leave out politics from my posts, for the obvious reason that nothing’s going to change in this country, and let the news reel in the sidebar take care of it. I’m inclined not to blame myself since the politicians in Sri Lanka are too busy making news that we just can’t resist commenting about.

President Mahinda Rajapakse is leaving for another foreign tour, this time to Rome.

I have no objection on such official visits by the ruler of this country for at times this may be imperative. The question is, how much is he willing to spend on his jumbo delegation this time around? We’ve observed in the past that the president has a habit of accompanying all the ministers he could find whenever he is traveling abroad. The rumors are that most of the catholic ministers are already packing their bags, ready to grab the elephant’s tail. Had this been a commercially significant tour, as was the case in the recent visit of China, we may justify some of the instances in which the ministers of the relevant ministries should be present for signing agreements etc. But due to the fact that this won’t be tour of that category the extravagance expenditure, if it becomes the case and which I’m certain it will be, will have to be justified.

If the history is to repeat here, it would be interesting to see what action the opposition would take against it. It was to be seen, for quite sometime now, that the opposition leader Ranil Wickramasingha is lacking his abilities to voice against the inconsistencies of the government and has been busy contemplating on his fallen dreams of a bygone election. The opposition has become as boring as the government itself in the recent times.

Let’s keep our fingers crossed.

Homosexuality in Sri Lanka - Have Your Say

A recent edition of the Anderson Cooper 360^o on CNN featured a somewhat interesting yet controversial topic – that of turning back gay and lesbian people and whether such transformation of sexuality, be it religiously or biologically, is truly possible. Interestingly, the bulk of the program evolved around the religious perspective of the subject, by that it means Christianity, what the bible has to say on this matter and how different people including the lay as well as the clergy, interpreted the very words of the holy book. The conversation to me was another continuation of the whole ‘same sex marriage’ story that has been featuring predominantly in the western world, and that again mostly in the United States, for quite sometime now. The mere effect this had on the US Presidential election and how this became a deciding issue, simply provides the platform as to how this has evolved to be a highly discussed matter in the present day.

Being a Buddhist with only a little knowledge on Christianity and being a Sri Lankan who has not set foot on US yet, I’d prefer to limit this post to a Sri Lankan Buddhist context and start a fresh discussion on what the future impacts would be ‘when’ this issue hits Sri Lanka. I emphasize on ‘when’ since I feel it’s inevitable that this discussion will arrive on Sri Lankan national matters someday; may be not as quickly as one would hope given the Sri Lankan culture and the society, but someday it definitely will. As the conventional system of human society is changing on the lights of cultural and religious freedom, the issues that once deemed to be hidden and subsided as sacrilegious are blooming and Sri Lanka won’t be an exception to this rising.

When most of the western countries acknowledge the existence of a gay/lesbian community, e.g. US, even amidst significant objections from religious parties, Sri Lanka still keeps the issue under wrap and very little discussion has been initiated. Yet it is true that we observe homosexual people on an individual basis amongst the characters we confront everyday. However, be it due to the fact that still there is no need for any discussion since such homosexual rising has not taken place in Sri Lanka or be it due to the denial or ignorance of people on such a matter, the subject is yet to surface. On the contrary, the US community has been taking a different approach and we see (from what we get through media) that a lot of people are now openly declaring their abnormal (by which I mean ‘not-man-and-woman but otherwise) sexuality. We observe even famous celebrities, for e.g. Sir Elton John, declaring themselves as gays & lesbians and some of them even advocating for gay & lesbian rights on a large scale.

So, what does future has for Sri Lanka? At this point a discussion on accepting and legalizing same sex marriage in Sri Lanka would appeal to be highly imaginary and hypothetical. However, given that the topic will emerge someday on a broader level and that no one denies the existence of such a group of people scattered in the island, let’s start a thread on the realistic aspects of relevance and acceptance of this controversial issue in Sri Lanka and the potential matters that would arise in such time.

From a personal perspective I wish to say that, even though I respect a person’s right to be accepted in the society as a gay or a lesbian, the implications of a person’s open declaration of him/herself as homosexual would be contrastingly enormous to what we may observe in the western society. In a community where open discussion on sexuality is frowned upon at times, the topic ‘homosexuality’ will have to travel a long way to reach a position where it would be worthy of open discourse. This would arise largely due to the conventional and religious upbringing the rest of the community will accompany with them owing to the influence of Buddhism on a greater proportion. I must declare that I’ve never heard of any incident in the 2500 year old Buddhist history or even the recallable Sri Lankan history of Buddhism where the word ‘homosexuality’ would appear and this may well hold true to almost all the Sri Lankans. Though I’m not certain whether Lord Buddha has mentioned this fact anywhere in his teachings, I feel certain that with very little awareness among us on this matter we are far away from even agreeing to accept the homosexual community. (Interestingly, in the CNN program several participants of the program extracted certain citations from the bible where Jesus had mentioned certain matters on homosexuality. According to them, even these few lines were rather ‘implicitly’ included, once again stressing the matter as blasphemous. Since I’m unable to comment on the contents of the bible, I’ll leave it open to the Christian readers to follow up further)

So, here are the questions. Would homosexuality be a violation of the 3^rd precept of the five precepts taught to us in Buddhism? How would the conventional unit ‘family’ be affected with the introduction of two male parents or two female parents? Will such a family structure be accepted by the community at large in the first place? How would the children of a same sex couple (obviously adopted or brought up from a marriage before revealing oneself as homosexual) face the society and would the society accept them? Can we actually make them straight again or is it fair to even try that in the first place? (I strongly suggest reading the page linked above at the very beginning). Will the Sri Lankan community accept them as they are? How would the community respond to their demands for their rights and would the rest of the community support them? These are some of the questions that occurred to me while I acknowledge there would be plenty more for the readers.

On a personal note; I found it a little difficult to accept the whole concept of homosexuality in the beginning and even with a strong notion of equal human rights, democracy etc, I used to defy my beliefs when it came to gays and lesbians. With the Buddhist upbringing and the society I live in, the subject was too much to swallow. With time the issue became commonplace and I’ve started to accept that though it may sound awkward it’s a truth we have to accept and respect. But as with my case, there would be thousands who still refuse to accept and live with the issue as it is.

So have your say and know what others have to say about homosexuality in Sri Lanka. I will make an effort to grow this post as I encounter interesting comments from the readers and will publish them separately if needed. I welcome Sri Lankans living abroad to contribute on how the matters are dealt outside Sri Lanka and fill up the gap especially on the legislation pertaining to that country.

Anyway, warm regards for a prosperous, peaceful Sinhala and Hindu New Year for everyone out there….

Sri Lankan National Identity Symbols

Who decides these things and do we have to follow them by virtue of being Sri Lankan? Various identity aspects we pose as descriptive of Sri Lanka are altogether little descriptive in their own selves. The national bird, the national tree and even the national sport itself. The question that baffles me is ‘what is the basis on which these things pose themselves as national identity marks and who sets them in the first place?’

The thought of finding facts in this came to me as I saw several desperate advertisements on the ‘national television’ to get the attention and support of the people to a certain ‘volleyball’ tournament – volleyball being the national sport in Sri Lanka – at a time when the majority of sports fans in Sri Lanka are obsessed with the ongoing world cup. No disrespect for volleyball, its fans, players and anything pertaining to it; but the question arises; On what basis does it qualify to be the national sport in Sri Lanka?

Is it the popularity among the population that decides these national remarks? Or was it some whimsical thought of the past rulers that made them what they are today? If it is the popularity, then surely volleyball does not qualify to be the national sport but cricket would; the wild fowl would not qualify to be the national bird but the peacock (that, if the city crow poses a denouncing image of Sri Lanka) would take its place; and the Na tree would be replaced by the coconut tree as the national tree and so forth. If it is the rarity with which we observe these things, then we have selected the right ones. The wild fowl, the Na tree and such are considerably rare with comparison to others in their respective categories. But I highly doubt that this is the case.

The purpose of this post is not to question the necessity for existence of such national identity marks to depict the image of a country to the outside world. Provided that it is not an issue, the idea of this post is to question whether these remarks actually do describe the image of Sri Lanka to the outside world. If the idea of having such symbolic identities is to draw a picture of Sri Lanka to the others then these do not seem to serve the purpose very well. The name ‘volleyball’ does not flash a Sri Lankan image as you hear it; but ‘cricket’ does. The word ‘Na’ tree does not; but the ‘coconut’ tree does.

Is it highly subjective from my part that I see these things this way? Is it really worth devoting some thought on these matters? May be, may be not. But since now they are existing, to me, there surely is some mismatch in the selections of these identities and thus it would be a good discussion point to the readers as well.

Marvan Atapattu – Former Captain and Official Water Boy for the WC 2007

As the cricket fans light up their bulbs till 3am in the morning, the world cup itself is heating up. With the recent nail biting win against the English, Sri Lankans are well on the way for a promising end to the tournament. Several interesting issues surfaced as the Sri Lankan team marched on to a reasonably safe state in the super 8s. These were focused on the Sri Lankan middle order batting, the teams’ dependence on Sanath Jayasuriya and many more matters that were brought on to discussion by cricket gurus.

With not-so-much knowledge on the intricate matters of the game, I thought of delving into certain issues which I believe would surface within the next three or four weeks and the most important being the inclusion of Marvan Atapattu in the team. From the start of the tournament it was seen that Marvan, former captain of Sri Lanka and an excellent one at that with a inspiring record, primarily played the role of a water-boy and was serving the team as the 12^th player.

Now, it is normally agreed that a team that’s on a winning streak is not changed unless a considerable issue arises calling for such a change. With this concept, the opportunities for Marvan to get a place in the Sri Lankan team seemed quite unlikely. But is this decision to leave Marvan out rational or have they missed a trick?

Sanath Jayasuriya’s opening partner Upul Tharanga has not been in his greatest form during this tournament. Though he scored two half centuries during the tournament, it seemed that he was taking an unusual approach to his batting which was highly uncharacteristic of him. It was more like that his place in the team was under pressure due to Marvan’s being in the squad. Though this is highly subjective, this very well could be one of the main reasons why we see a mediocre performance from Upul Tharanga from his accustomed approach to batting.

This opens up the conversation as to whether it would be feasible idea for Marvan to have a go at the top order. Let’s not forget that Sanath and Marvan used to be a highly successful opening pair for the Sri Lankan team with a lot of chemistry and understanding between them. To add to that, Marvan is an excellent player of spin bowling as well as fast bowling and a player with very sound technique.

With enough reasons to give Marvan a go at the earlier matches (this doesn’t include sympathy out of seeing him bringing water to the players) it seems that Sri Lankan team management missed an opportunity to get the best out of this player. Even in the South Africa match, Marvan would have been a more suitable option over Upul Tharanga given his record against the best teams in the world. At the least level, I thought they should have cut him some slack in one of the games against one of the less reputed teams, i.e against Bermuda or Bangladesh. But with failure to do so, we have now arrived at the critical section of the super 8s with Australia and New Zealand to face next though we are already in the comfort zone. So, the situation thus reveals that chances for Marvan in this tournament is fading away and he would only have to serve as the 12^th man till the end of the tournament.