Sanath Jayasuriya takes flak after entering politics

Veteran Sri Lanka batsman Sanath Jayasuriya came under fire today for his decision to enter politics while still playing for the national team.

Jayasuriya will contest April 8 parliamentary elections as a candidate for President Mahinda Rajapakse's Freedom Alliance party in his home constituency of Matara.

The 40 year-old, the oldest cricketer still playing at the top level in the world, retired from Test cricket in 2007 but has vowed to continue his international career in the shorter forms of the game.

"His career is waning. He has set a bad precedent by entering politics before retiring completely from cricket," said Arjuna Ranatunga, the 1996 World Cup winning skipper, who took to politics only after he quit the game.

Jayasuriya is my preferred opening partner - Dilshan

Tillakaratne Dilshan and wife actress Manjula Thilini were on a Sinhalese language talk show on Swaranavahini this past Sunday. It was an interesting show with several questions thrown at them both, but it was Dilshan's response when asked who he would like to open batting with, that really drew me into the interview.

Although Upul Tharanga has been Dilshan's opening partner of late, Dilshan told the presenters of the show that he preferred opening with Sanath.

When Sanath Jayasuriya made public his decision to enter politics, the Sri Lankan fans were immediately divided. Even Sanath's long time fans found it unpalatable. There were those who claimed it was a dirty trick by a selfish player to try and get back into the team. This is of course if you thought he was out of the team.

Sanath has been an important cog in Sri Lanka's Twenty20 team and the ODI team since his retirement from Test cricket. He was sent down the order during Sri Lanka's tour to India in late 2009, and due to a loss of form he was not selected for a tri-series in Bangladesh. But, that never meant Sanath was out of the picture, or that he needed to become a politician to get back into the ODI side. Don't forget he has not lost his place as opener in the Twenty20 side. Therefore, his performances in Twenty20s for Sri Lanka, and the fact that he is still a contracted player, means that he is just a knock away from selection.

Dilshan didn't mince his words, he told the talk show hosts on Sunday morning that he felt a great degree of confidence just seeing Jayasuriya at the other end. But fans will never get it. When you are a professional athlete trying to win games, words like the "future," "youth," and "giving youngster a chance," all become non-relevant words.

Every player wants to win and they want match winners in their team. In a player's eyes, the youth can work their way up just as hard as all the seniors did. Players themselves feel that if you are good enough you will make it, and Sanath isn't holding anyone back.

Due to his age Sanath Jayasuriya has always been the first name on the chopping block, every time we loose we think that changing the team and sending inexperienced youth into the firing line is the answer.

Sure, Jayasuriya's move to enter politics is ridiculous. But that's his call. Everyone one of us is entitled to make our own mistakes.

Those who are crying foul at Jayasuriya's entry into politics usually don't see eye to eye with the ruling party, so they continue to tarnish the legend's reputation. The misguided think that Sanath is trying to make his way back into the team.

For Sanath, this uncertainty and criticism has been part and parcel of his career.

Dilshan relishes brief stint with Northern Districts' Knights

When asked about his stint with New Zealand's Northern Districts, and how it felt to be flown into the venue by helicopter moments before a match, Dilshan said it was an outstanding experience and the treatment he received by the Knights gave him a lot of confidence and reinforced his own belief in his abilities.

(Article by gavin at Island Cricket)

History awaits Sanath Jayasuriya

Sanath Teran Jayasuriya, known as the ‘ Master Blaster’ or the ‘Matara Mauler’ is no doubt god’s gift to the game. From the time he was knee high to a bat at St. Servatius College, Matara, big run making came naturally to him.

His natural promise began to grow and representative honours was not long in coming. He first served notice when he toured Pakistan with the Sri Lanka ‘A’ team and reeled off two double centuries.

That was his launching pad and since then has mesmerized the cricket world with his unbelievable and amazing stroke play with the willow that has made everyone watch in awe and applaud his brilliance.

Records came naturally to him and now he is in line to create another world record when he becomes a Member of Parliament from Matara in the coming General Election.


Sporting the cap of the UPFA gifted to him by the sports loving and promoting President Mahinda Rajapaksa, he will now take his stance and strike it rich for his party. President Rajapaksa has the god given ability to spot a winner, and in Jayasuriya he has certainly picked an easy winner.

Jayasuriya’s next record will come when he takes the field for Sri Lanka at the next 50 over World Cup tournament to be conducted in the sub-continent as a Member of Parliament. He will be the first in the world to do so. He has promised to make his bat do the talking by scoring heavily and then taking his rightful place in the team.

Jayasuriya Into Politics? Why or Why?

Perhaps reality is sinking into him and is thinking about life after cricket. Perhaps he is misled by some folks or maybe he has genuine intent to help the people of Matara. What ever it is, I think it’s a terrible choice. Politics in Sri Lanka is not for gentlemen no matter which party you decide to hang out with. This immensely talented man has seen a sharp decline in the last year or so. Even though I want him to go forever, I think reality is catching up with all of us. So perhaps we can’t blame him for looking for a life after cricket.

I think his IPL contract is expiring after this season, which probably will not be renewed. As far as I know he was not recalled by the Nashua Dolphins for another season and he has found work in lesser leagues in Singapore etc. Kind of reminds me of the Wrestler movie. I thought he had one last hurrah left in him for the world cup, but if the last few internationals are any indication, then there isn’t much hope left.

As any loyal fan, my hopes went up when he got back into form in the inter provincial match against the combined X1, but since has not had much luck with the bat. I hope the spell he bowled against the Kandurata team will keep his chances alive as an all rounder. It remains to be seen what the selectors think when the time comes for the T20 World Cup. Perhaps he may come back to form during the IPL. His reflexes may have slowed down a bit, but I think the man still has the luck and the magic.

Either the way I wish him luck. Maybe he might be able to make a difference to his home town. But I think deep inside, he himself wants people to remember him as the swashbuckling batsmen that helped us win the world cup, rather than Sanath the politician. I hope he protects that legacy.

(Article by Ranukaz (ranukaz.wordpress.com)

Jayasuriya to take on Ranatunga in politics

His cricket career on the wane, former captain Sanath Jayasuriya has taken the political plunge and will have a face-off against ex-teammate Arjuna Ranatunga during election campaigns for their respective alliances for the April 8 Sri Lankan Parliamentary polls.

Jayasuriya is expected to contest the upcoming general elections under the ruling coalition United People Freedom Alliance (UPFA) ticket from the Southern Coastal Matara district.

Jayasuriya, however, ruled out giving up cricket just yet.

“I will not give up cricket though I am coming into politics. I was pushed to this decision after an exhaustive study,” the opener said.

“I have nothing to earn from the politics. But I can work for the people who loved me a lot. It is the bounden duty to serve the people, in return, for what they did for me to come to this position,” he added.

“When the UPFA invited me to contest for general elections I accepted it since this is a golden opportunity to work people wholeheartedly,” Jayasuriya told Daily News.

The 40-year-old cricketer said he got the all-clear to contest elections from the Sri Lanka Cricket Board.

Ranatunga, who left the UPFA and sided with the defeated opposition presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka, had recently said that Jayasuriya and other active cricket players should not join politics.

While one of Arjuna Ranatunga’s brother, Prasanna is the Chief Minister of the UPFA-led Western Provincial Council, his another sibling Nishantha Ranatunga is the secretary of the Interim Committee of the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC).

Jayasuriya to contest under UPFA ticket

All-rounder and veteran cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya who entertained Sri Lankan and world cricket fans with his aggressive batting for more than two decades, will contest for the upcoming General Election. He will also come into politics under the UPFA ticket from the Matara District.

“I will not give up cricket though I come into politics. I was pushed to this decision after an exhaustive study” the master blaster told the Daily News. I have nothing to earn from the politics like many others do. But I can work for the people who loved me a lot, added Jayasuriya.

It is the bounden duty to serve the people, in return, for what they did for me to come to this position. When the UPFA invited me to contest for General Elections I accepted it since this is a golden opportunity to work people wholeheartedly, said the veteran cricketer.

The senior and oldest cricketer in the National Cricket Team further stressed that he has come a long way and has entertained all cricket fans at his greatest strength and he wants to continue it giving maximum satisfaction for the people who were behind his success irrespective of their differences.

The 40 year old cricketer, responding to the clearance report from the Sri Lanka Cricket Board to contest for the election while playing Cricket, explained “everything has been solved and I will definitely contest for the forthcoming General election.”

Factor of “Sanath Jayasuriya” in the Political Arena

Sanath Teran Jayasuriya-a Master Blaster can be considered as Youth icon ,celebrity and “a man coming with village and did(still doing) Miracles in the world of cricket”.

Sri Lankans go crazy whenever the “Matara Mauler” walks into the pitch.He used to hold a very distinctive record almost never to be achieved by a single cricket player. He held the fastest fifty (against Pakistan 17 balls) and fastest 150 (against England in 95 balls) in ODI cricket.

The most enchanting moment of Master Blaster Jayasuriya’s career was in 1996 when Sri Lanka team emerged champions of the World Cup tournament in the sub continent, beating Australia by seven wickets in the final played in Lahore on March 17, 1996. Jayasuriya had a rich harvest during the 1996 World Cup to be adjudged the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.

This efforts won him the prestigious Wisden Cricketer of the Year award the following year.In Test also He Scored 6973 runs with one triple century, three double centuries, 14 centuries and 31 fifties. His highest score was 340 against India in Premadasa Stadium,Sri Lanka.

People do admiring Sanath not only because of his batting but because he stands as “Sana from matara”. The uniqueness in Jayasuriya’s exemplary career has been his humbleness. Though he is the only player to score more than 13,000 runs and capture more than 300 wickets in one day internationals, he is still the very same Jayasuriya who used to travel to Colombo by bus from Matara with his heavy cricket baggage during the early part of his career.

Why “Sanath Jayasuriya” factor is important in this time? People will say because of his cricket. Yes. But more importantly he indeed can be considered as a cricketer of a “common man” Who came from the village. Why rural sector is importance? Rural sector represented the 75% of the population in Sri Lanka. So the ratio between rural and urban is 75:25! Some argued that this time the village will be the decisive factor to win the election.

As a celebrity Sanath can be considered as most famous figure throughout the world. Especially young cricketers try to imitate the unique batting style of Sanath which can be considered as “Sanath’s special”. Even in india still some people know Sri Lanka because of Jayasuriya!!”.He is the first cricketer to be appointed as a UN Goodwill Ambassador (by UNAIDS, Geneva) for his commitment to prevention of HIV/AIDS among young people in Sri Lanka .If you type Sanath Jayasuriya in Google(one of the popular search engine in the internet) you can find out 273,000 pages as result!

Cricketers supporting to particular political parties is not uncommon in South Asian countries. In Sri Lanka we got players like Arjuna Rantunga, Hashan Thillakarathne etc. Arjuna’s entry into politics was not a miracle .He is from the family (family of Ranatunga) is famous for politics. In India also we can see players like Navjot Singh Sidhu (who was elected to the Lok Sabha as the member from Amritsar in 2004 on a BJP ticket; he later resigned, following his conviction for culpable homicide, however the Supreme Court of India stayed his conviction. He successfully contested the Amritsar Lok Sabha seat, defeating his Congress rival, State Finance Minister Surinder Singla, by 77,626 votes).

Ex-captain Mohammad Azharuddin, is also presently a member of Indian parliament. He represents the Moradabad constituency of Uttar Pradesh and is a member of the Indian National Congress.

World cup wining captain of Pakistan, Imran Khan can be considered as most influential politician who played cricket in the last decades. Khan founded and became the chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (Movement for Justice), a small and marginal political party, of which he is the only member ever elected to Parliament. He represented Mianwali as a member of the National Assembly from November 2002 to October 2007.

Some people like to draw parallel between Imran and Arjuna because both of them can be considered as world-cup wining captains. But some political analysts were in the view that that both were already failed in politics (anyway this was subject to certain arguments).

Cricket is always like a religion in countries like Sri Lanka. Players like Sanath can be considered as opinion leaders for the fans as well as for the general public. He has an edge over others because of his unique style, approach and humbleness, Still it is too immature to anticipate that Sanath will contest for the election. But “the factor of Sanath Jayasuriya” cannot be neglected in political arena (like in Cricket).


( Source )

Sanath Jayasuriya endorses President Mahinda Rajapaksa [VIDEO]

Renowned Cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya yesterday said that it was an obligation of the people of Ambalangoda as well as of the entire country to cast their votes on January 26 for President Mahinda Rajapaksa who created a peaceful and fearless environment for people to travel around and live in safely.

He made this observation at a rally held in Ambalanagoda appearing in a political stage for the first time.

Jayasuriya addressing the rally said it was a moment of pleasure to address the people in Ambalangoda in a political stage for the first time.

Commending the President’s brave measure to eliminate LTTE terrorism from the country, Jayasuriya stated that he travelled from Matara to Colombo and back in fear for life before the LTTE was eradicated from the country.

He also stated that President brought relief to the nation and now any cricket team in the world was willing to come to Sri Lanka to play. The time is ripe for the tourism industry as well.

(Source)