The ‘Matara Mauler’ may soon become the ‘Matara Manthrithuma’. Yes, Sanath Jayasuriya is contesting the general election. That by itself is not an aberration, except that you feel like asking, ‘is he really capable of handling it?’, the same question you would ask if you were told that he would open the batting for Sri Lanka in the next one day international.
Arjuna seems to be meandering into political oblivion these days, courting General Sarath Fonseka. But one admires the man who wagged his finger at Ross Emerson and Darrel Hair and doesn’t appear in any commercials because he does what he thinks is right and sticks to it-even at great cost to him. Late Papa Reggie, I believe, would have cheered.Arjuna insists on supporting the General. Perhaps they have something in common: they both overcame tremendous odds, so now they both believe they can win again, even though the writing is on the wall for all to see. But, I digress. The issue here is not Arjuna or Sarath, it is Sanath.
Why fuss about Sanath? There is a reason for that. Unlike his illustrious predecessors who opted for politics after retiring from cricket, Sanath is still playing for the national cricket team. And since all things in this blessed country - including the Mahanayakes - are now political, this raises a few important questions.
If-and this is not a big if at all-Sanath wins, and if - this being a slightly bigger if - he is appointed the Minister of Sports, what would happen? Well, for starters it is the Minister of Sports who appoints the selectors and it is the selectors who pick the team. And, Sanath is battling for a place in the team. And the icing on the cake is that it will be the Minister of Sports (Sanath?) who will approve the team! Would it be a case of the tail wagging the dog?
One might say, so what? After all, it is the President of the country who appoints the Judges of the Supreme Court and it is these same judges who hear the presidential election petition. But then, if we say that cricket selectors are of the same calibre as the judges of the Supreme Court, we would be hauled for contempt of court, and I would think deservedly so, too.
Remember the time when Sanath was dropped by the selectors for a tour to Australia? Sanath obviously had dreams of a ‘Suba Anaagathyak’ even then he went crying to the powers that be who promptly ordered him be reinstated in the team. To give Sanath his due, he then caught a flight to Sydney where he thumped a century against the Aussies.
But the point is, what did the selectors do? Did they resign in disgust at political interference? No, they hedged the issue-as they were fond of doing-and let it go at that. So we have to be stupid if we believe that the selectors will dare to drop Sanath if he is indeed the Honourable Sanath, Minister of Sports, who appoints them and ratifies the final selection anyway.
The next Parliament will, barring any unforeseen circumstances run until 2016. Sanath has already indicated he wants to play for the 2011 World Cup. But we are a lucky country-if and when Sanath gets elected he is more than likely to get selected, so we may even have him playing in the 2015 World Cup; he would be only 46 then-he would still be a year younger than Nolan Clarke who played for the Netherlands in the 1996 World Cup!
Now, don’t get us wrong. We are not being uncharitable to the ‘Matara Manthrithuma’. We did enjoy every moment of his swashbuckling innings. And his little nudges and adjustments just before he bats. We hope he can do the same in Parliament, adjustments and all. And if he ever decides to contest as an independent we will vote for him too-as long as he uses the ‘walking stick’ as his symbol!