Mystery man keeps things simple

Mendis has been a household cricketing name in Lanka all through the ‘80s and the same is true at the present, though a few minor confusions about the old batting stalwart and new spin phenomenon are bound to occur.

Fresh from the pool, Ajantha walks out with a few friends and several hangers-on as stern security guards suddenly go weak in their knees after spotting the man who they call ‘acharu’ — loosely translated as the all-knowing. The nickname is certainly to do with his all-round cricketing skills as Ajantha’s first statement is about a handicap. “Don’t know English, can’t give interview,” is a contradictory statement, but the broken words convey his linguistic limitations.

Ajantha is almost apologetic as he shows his helplessness by throwing up his hands. That’s when Sri Lanka A skipper Jehan Mubarak walks past and, after getting a whiff of the confusion, sportingly chips in to be the translator.

Though not the ‘cabin at the board office’ kind, overnight fame is certainly what Ajantha experienced after returning home. “I got a huge welcome. I now get recognised on the streets. I am quite happy that things have turned out this way,” he says.

He joined Army to play cricket and his 60-plus wickets had a big role to play in the men in uniform getting promoted to the top division. “I have never been part of any military action, but after the Asia Cup, I have been promoted as second lieutenant,” he says.

Despite the hype and the endless analysis about his bowling, Ajantha wants to keep things simple. “In my initial days, I used to just grip and ball and try different things. Normal was boring for me. I tried different variations every time I got a ball in hand. No coach helped me develop these balls. But later they did help me perfect them,” he says.

First-hand experience

That is the cue for the man who spotted him first to walk into the story. Anusha Samaranayake, the pace-bowling coach at the Sri Lanka Cricket Academy, along with former international Ruwan Kalpage, made an unconventional decision last year — they drafted a 22-year-old B division player into the fold.

“From the day we spotted him, he had all the variations. Not only was he gifted, he was also very calm and always ready to listen,” he says. Samaranayake catches one by surprise as he says that Ajantha toured India with the Academy side last year and played against the Maharashtra Ranji team in a tournament. “He didn’t do much as he was bowling too slow,” says the coach.

Things turned as he returned to the domestic circuit. He impressed everybody who saw him and flummoxed anybody who played him. Samaranayake has an interesting story to tell. “Kumar Sanagakkara came to the academy one day and Ajantha bowled to him. First ball forward defence, second ball same, third ball same and fourth ball he lost his stump. After three off-spinners, this one was a leggie,” he says. Sangakkara made inquires, acknowledging that there was more to him than freakishness.

After the Asia Cup, Samaranayake met his ward and spoke about his recent high. “I asked him to behave like a star now. Buy a car, wear flashy clothes. Actually, I was pulling his leg since I knew he wouldn’t do all those things. He said that he would buy a car later this year, but clothes I don’t think so,” says the coach as he speaks about Ajantha’s modest family background and his tough early days at the fishing and trading town of Moratuwa on the outskirts of Colombo.

Though there is talk that Ajantha might not be in the playing XI at SSC — he is expected to be unleashed at the spin-friendly track at Galle — Samaranayake says that confidence in his ability will see the mystery bowler shine in the longer version too. “One day at the academy, I asked him to master maybe four of his six to seven different variations he has, as it would help at the top level. He asked me a counter-question ‘I have mastered all of them, now you tell me which four should I concentrate on’,” says the coach with a smile.

There might be confusion over his second name, his translated answers and, most importantly, in the minds of batsmen that face him but for Lanka’s mystery man, life, or the game he plays, is quite simple.