It8217;s just knot cricket

The 1994 Singer Cup saw Sri Lankan paceman Pramodaya Wickeramasinghe utilising the gap between matches in the tournament to bid adieu to ba...

The 1994 Singer Cup saw Sri Lankan paceman Pramodaya Wickeramasinghe utilising the gap between matches in the tournament to bid adieu to bachelorhood. This time it8217;s the turn of Sanjeewa Ranatunga, the Lankan middle-order batsman who is not in the current team, but who went on the recent tour of the West Indies.

Sanjeewa, the younger brother of Lankan skipper Arjuna Ranatunga and son of Reggie Ranatunga, Deputy Minister of Ports Development amp; Reconstruction, got married to Maravan Atapattu8217;s sister, Elita, today.

The Ranatunga-Atapattu marriage increases the list of brothers-in-law in international cricket. Not long ago Vikram Rathore married Aashish Kapoor8217;s sister and, in the 70s, Gundappa Vishwanath fell in love with Sunil Gavaskar8217;s sister and tied the knot with her.

HOME, NOT SO SWEET HOME

There was a time when England bitterly complained that even at home, they seemed to be playing away while facing the West Indies. Such was the vocal support of the strong West Indian fans inside the ground.

Now we have similar feelings surfacing here, although on a much lesser scale. The Sri Lankan cricketers are not complaining but there are murmurs nevertheless among patriotic Sri Lankans.

The Premadasa Stadium is in Maligawatta, where there is a large concentration of Muslim population. Some of them openly rooted for Pakistan when they played Lanka in the opening match of the Asia Cup. This has irked some people and one gentlemen wrote in a letter to the editor of a local paper asking people to refrain from such misplaced patriotism.

Incidentally, the gentleman was also a Lankan Muslim.

WELL FOCUSSED

The Sri Lankans are a dedicated lot. In these day of monotonous travel and killing playing schedule, the Sri Lankans 8212; most of whom are from Colombo 8212; could have easily stayed at home and come for the matches as most home players in other countries do.

Story continues below this ad

However, the Lankans not only stay together at the team hotel but are also one of the most conscientious team when it comes to disciplined workouts. They even use the luxury of the 5-star hotel pool to exercise as a team !