5th Column
For a few cricket dollars more
View(s):My Dear Angelo and the cricket team,
I thought I must write to you not only because of your great performance at the Asia Cup where you were unbeaten and eventually became champions, but also because you were in the news a few days later asking for more money from Sri Lanka Cricket. First though, congratulations are in order. It was a fantastic performance by a team with a lot of talent. What was encouraging was to see youngsters perform well in tandem with trusted old hands who have served the country well for many years.
After that rousing performance, you were given a heroes’ welcome when you returned to the country. There you were, riding in an open double decker bus and it surely brought back memories of the famous World Cup win in 1996 — though most of you would have been less than ten years old at that time!
You would have received many messages wishing you well. There were cheers all round for the cricket team which had restored the country’s pride, at a time when other countries were humiliating the nation by passing resolutions against it in Geneva. India is among them. It was good that you defeated them too!
Most of you were heroes in the eyes of the public once again and they would have been willing to forgive even Lasith Malinga for his infamous ‘mind your own business’ remarks, after his match winning performance at the finals.
Imagine our surprise then, when we heard only a few days later that you were demanding more sponsorship money from Sri Lanka Cricket, so that you could have the honour of representing your country. I am sure you have your side of the story, but I must say I was disappointed.
We all know that Sri Lanka Cricket is making colossal losses and that is one of the reasons why it recently had to give in to the outrageous proposals by the so-called ‘Big Three’, India, England and Australia. It is not as if Sri Lanka Cricket is making millions in profits and not sharing it with you.
I know you will argue that unlike most people who do a job and retire when they are sixty or sixty five years of age, your playing days are numbered and therefore, you have to make the most of it while it is possible to do so.Even so, it is not as if you are living below the poverty line, is it? Most of you — except maybe a few younger members of the team — live in mansions, travel in luxury vehicles and enjoy a lifestyle that only a few Sri Lankans can ever dream of.
And in addition to your earnings on the cricket field, you are busy earning money selling everything from sausages to chocolate drinks and mobile networks. And, looking at some of the billboards around the country, one would have thought you were among those contesting the provincial council elections!
Then there is the IPL to which all of you have become slaves. This was not an avenue that was open to even members of the World Cup winning team. At the IPL, most of you now have the chance to earn in a mere six weeks what you would have otherwise earned in a lifetime!
As cricketers who have brought honour to the country and as members of the only Sri Lankan sports team which has consistently performed at the international level and won, you are entitled to every rupee that you have earned. We don’t grudge you that. In fact, we are all proud of you.
When you, however, start making demands to earn a few extra rupees whenever you win a tournament, that does take the gloss off your win, I must say. That is when questions will be raised about your commitment and whether you are playing for your country — or your chance to earn a few more dollars?
We haven’t forgotten that some of you once bullied Sri Lanka Cricket into allowing you to play in the IPL — at the expense of a tour to England, where we then lost badly. And these were some of the most senior players and so called ‘gentlemen’ in the team too!
It now seems as if everyone else is also following their example and playing for money. Think about it, Angelo and the team, when you next take the field to represent your country. After all, we don’t want our cricket team looking like a trade union asking for an increase in overtime rates!
Think also about Captain Cool who led the country to its greatest sporting triumph in 1996 — and who never appeared in any advertisement. He did not score as many runs as some of the ‘gentlemen’ in your team and he only bullied other countries but, short chap though he is, he stands head and shoulders above you!
Yours truly,
Punchi Putha
PS: If what you are really after is money, fame and publicity in return for representing your country, you are in the wrong game. You must take to politics where you can earn your millions without ever breaking a sweat. And if you want advice about that, it is near at hand: you can always ask your Chief Selector, Sonna Boy!