India: Friend, Big Brother or Saviour?
When eight Indian cricketers went into isolation after Kurnal Pandya tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of the second T20 international against Sri Lanka, it sent shivers down Sri Lanka Cricket’s (SLC) spine. The tourists had every reason to back out. With nine players were in quarantine, they were just down to 11, not counting the four standbys, to finish off the last two games of the six-match white-ball series.The Indians were concerned about the health and safety of its players. But given the close diplomatic ties of the two neighbouring countries, and SLC’s close relationship with cricket’s ‘Big Brother’, they agreed to complete the series. Sri Lanka won the T20 series 2-1 but India won Sri Lankan hearts for their magnanimous gesture.
The series was of great importance to both sides. For India, it was an opportunity to test its fringe players, as veteran cricketer writer Kuldip Lal says, “to give the bench strength a chance to experience international competition”. For them, losing so many players to Covid-19 was a blessing in disguise, an opportunity to test those who had not played at all and would have returned home without a game in the series. The purpose, Kuldip says, was served.
But for Sri Lanka, the significance was much greater. On the one hand, they wanted their team to do better than what it had done for many years in limited-over cricket. And secondly, the Board was looking forward for the cash the series would bring. No series is as financially beneficial as an Indian one. SLC became richer by Rs 2.8bn by hosting that series—a huge contribution to its coffers. “We are ever so grateful for the Government of India and the BCCI for honouring the tour,” said Mohan de Silva, SLC Secretary, while recalling how BCCI has been a friend-in-need to the Board over the years.
“We were concerned about the fate of the series, given the circumstances, but Indians did not panic. They requested player safety, and on assurance, they agreed to complete the tour. That was a great gesture from them.”
Originally, the tour was for three ODIs, but India agreed to three additional T20s when the SLC requested it. “We had only a three-match ODI series lined up with them but we managed to add three T20s following discussions. The credit should go to SLC President Shammi Silva as he was instrumental in getting the three additional matches. It was a great gesture and we made an additional US$ 7 million through the TV rights, ground rights, and title sponsorships. We are ever indebted to BCCI and their Government.”
At a time when the pandemic was sweeping across the country, it was a challenge to convince teams to tour Sri Lanka. But India was committed, stepping in when it mattered. “The cases were spiking in our backyard. Yet, the Indian government and their Board granted permission to travel to Sri Lanka and play the series. And, even after a COVID positive case, they agreed the tour will go ahead. I must thank the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka, the coach Rahul Dravid and the team management for the trust they placed on us. Also, the health authorities here for the wonderful support rendered to continue the tour,” de Silva said.
This is not the first time India has come to Sri Lanka’s rescue. When Australia and the West Indies refused to travel to Sri Lanka for their first round fixture of the 1996 World Cup, Jagmohan Dalmiya, the convener of PILCOM (Pakistan-India-Lanka committee), the joint organisers of the 1996 showpiece, got together with members of the three host Boards and came up with a plan to show their solidarity with Sri Lanka.
A joint India-Pakistan team led by Mohammed Azharuddin was sent to Colombo to play the Sri Lankan team in a one-off match as a confidence building measure – a gesture for which Dalmiya is still treated with a lot of respect in Sri Lanka. “India and Sri Lanka were World Cup co-hosts in 1996 along with Pakistan, so it was natural for India and Pakistan to show solidarity and send a joint team to play in Sri Lanka. The credit goes to Jagmohan Dalmiya for organising that game in Colombo,” Kuldip Lal, who had been a regular visitor to the Island since 1985, told the Sunday Times.
The SLC Secretary also remembered how Mr. Dalmiya helped him out, back in 2004, with three additional tours to raise the broadcasting rights fees.
“Thilanga Sumathipala had a very close relationship with Mr. Dalmiya and it was one of the key reasons why I managed to get three additional tours from Indian to push the broadcasting rights back in 2004,” de Silva explained.
India’s generosity was such that, in 2018, they sent a team to the Nidahas Trophy tournament at short notice, helping SLC come out of a financial crisis with close to Rs 1bn profit.