Opinion | Jayasuriya controversy : Sanath has every right to defend his integrity, portraying his own loyalties to his motherland

Sri Lankan cricketing icon Sanath Jayasuriya to face the embarrasment of hurled verbal abuse while fielding close to the boundary where some of these demonstrators had gathered outside and Jayasuriya's own remonstration had been made a big deal of by the local media.

Jayasuriya had every right to defend his integrity with a show of defiance himself while portraying his own loyalties to his motherland and giving them the veritable single finger salute and bravo to him and to hell with his critics!

Sri Lankan Cricket team arrive in Canada | Pics & Video

The Sri Lankan Cricket team touched down at the Pearson International Airport this evening for the Al Barakah four-nation Twenty20 tournament.
Sri Lankan team just arrived in Toronto at 7.20PM EST

Pics by CoolWind and Hilal
Thanks to: www.hilalscricket.com , www.slcricket.com

Why Sanath Jayasuriya is good for Dolphins...

ARE the Dolphins keeping a good local player out of their team by signing Sanath Jayasuriya for the season? Possibly, but let’s see how the Sri Lankan star can benefit the team from Durban. First, the Dolphins have lost one of their best prospects, Jonathan Vandiar, to the Lions, who seem incapable of producing (or keeping) their best young players. After all, they let Graeme Smith slip away to Western Province. Second, along with Jayasuriya, the Dolphins have lured young wicketkeeper Bradley Barnes from Cape Town. Barnes now has a chance to get serious game time because he would have had to wait in a queue at Newlands. Finally, someone like Jayasuriya can help mould young players in the Dolphins squad, just as Malcolm Marshall did when he spent a few seasons with the Durban team. Shaun Pollock, for one, benefited enormously under the late West Indian great. Western Province did the same with their new generation (of whom Jacques Kallis was a member) when they got Desmond Haynes to play in Cape Town. Free State made one of their best signings when Franklyn Stephenson joined. He was part of a programme to lift the standard in the province and they have not looked back. Jayasuriya has been signed for only one season, but it’s enough time to pass on some cricket nuggets - and they might be able to persuade him to return. The Dolphins, according to their CEO Cassim Docrat, will play in the same group as the Rajasthan Royals, Middlesex and Western Australia in the upcoming Champions League. The Titans, who won the tournament in South Africa, will play in the same group as the Chennai Super Kings, Victoria of Australia and Sialkot of Pakistan.

Sri Lanka's Jayasuriya becomes a Dolphin - Sanath to play for Dolphins, South Africa

Sanath Jayasuriya, the Sri Lankan batsman, has been signed by the Dolphins, the Kwa Zulu-Natal-based franchise, to play on the South African domestic circuit for two seasons.

The Dolphins have pulled off the biggest pre-season coup in South African cricket by negotiating a contract with Sri Lankan batting maestro Sanath Jayasuriya.

Jayasuriya confirmed he had signed a contract with the Dolphins but refused to reveal his fee. "I'm bound by my contract not to make any statements about the financial side of the deal," Jayasuriya told South Africa's Daily News. "All I can say is that I will play for the Dolphins and help change things around over the next two seasons."

Jayasuriya, who will arrive in Durban with his family towards the end of October, said he was joining the team for a purpose. "I'm still part of the Sri Lankan one-day and the Twenty20 squads. Hence I am coming to Durban with a goal: I want to transform the Dolphins into a trophy-winning team. That's my aim."

In the Indian Premier League Jayasuriya was a huge hit. He scored 514 runs with a highest score of 114 not out (9x4s and 11x6s off 48 balls) against Chennai Super Kings. He averaged 42.83 in the competition and his strike-rate was a massive 166.34. He struck a total of 57 fours and 31 sixes in the 14 matches. The former Sri Lankan captain has played a record 421 one-day internationals for his country, 110 Tests and 28 Twenty20 Internationals.

Yashin Ebrahim, the Dolphins coach, said that signing Jayasuriya was a dream come true for the team. "He is still one of the best players in the shortened form of the game and he will no doubt add value to the Dolphins this season. The fact that we have not won a trophy for a few years motivated Sanath to make the trip to Durban. He said he loves challenges and would do his best to bring back the glory days and crowds to Sahara Stadium Kingsmead."

The Dolphins were placed fourth in the SuperSport Series, South Africa's four-day domestic tournament, fifth in the one-day championship, and were finalists in the Pro20.