Kariyapperuma to continue as cricket Team Manager

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

Sri Lanka Cricket has appointed Manuja Kariyapperuma to continue in his role as manager of the national cricket team until the end of the ICC T20 World Cup in UAE and Oman on 14 November.

The extension of Kariyapperuma’s appointment means that SLC are not in a great hurry to appoint a permanent manager.

SLC CEO Ashley de Silva confirmed that Kariyapperuma was one of three people who had applied and been shortlisted for the manager’s post.

“We had a discussion and the ExCo felt that he should only be appointed up to the T20 World Cup and after that review his performance and take a call. So far, we haven’t had any issues as such with him, so we have asked him to continue until the T20 World Cup,” De Silva said.

“We will go back again and review his performance, if we feel that he should be appointed on a long term we might do that. He is also currently doing another job. He is in charge of operations and manager and consultant of women’s cricket. We were wondering whether he should come back to the same position and appoint another person on a long-term basis. That call we will only have to take after the T20 World Cup.”

The post of manager became vacant when Ashantha de Mel resigned from the post at the end of the two-Test series against England in January, since then SLC has been appointing a manager on a tour-by-tour basis.

Jerome Jayaratne was appointed to the role for the tour to the West Indies in March.

However, for the two-Test home series against Bangladesh that followed in April, SLC appointed Kariyapperuma. Since then, he has been asked to continue for the tours to Bangladesh and England and for the home series against India which ended in July, largely because these tours were back-to-back, and the team had to continue to be in a bio-bubble because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kariyapperuma, who will be the team manager for the upcoming white ball home series against South Africa and the T20 World Cup, said he had a one-week break during the Dialog SLC Invitational T20 League and was now back in a bubble from 23 August with the rest of the squad and support staff and selectors numbering 46. He is able to find time to continue in this role because his family is in Italy. “My wife and son are in Italy, and I generally go and visit them, but after the outbreak of COVID-19 I have not gone there.”

Kariyapperuma cited his managerial skills in business management and the 36 years he had spent time in plantations for his ability to successfully manage the national cricket team, and at the same time undergo strict quarantine regulations from bubble to bubble.

“I have been in the plantations industry for a long time, 36 years from 1984 to 2020. In plantations you get the same bungalows, and you hardly have anyone to talk to. Only when friends from Colombo come do you enjoy it, otherwise you are all alone. So being in quarantine is nothing for me. It’s the planting discipline,” said Kariyapperuma, who is currently a Director at the Talawakelle Tea Company after having relinquished his duties as CEO at Horana Plantations.

“The managerial skills I have acquired from my work and the training that I got at NUS (National Unities of Singapore), Finlays, Japan in business management – I have a little bit of military background and also being a volunteer force member as lieutenant colonel – all those things help a lot.

“I am enjoying my role as manager because in the sense, it’s a challenge. It’s about how you look after the boys whilst keeping up to the regulations. You have to balance the two. The most difficult thing is keeping them under COVID-19 regulations and keeping the stress levels down. It’s getting the players into a very organised structure, and they listen to that. You have to put the manager’s skills into it.

“You must have a perfect understanding with the coach, what his needs are, so that he can concentrate on cricket. Even the others. It’s a good combination. I have built a good rapport with all the support staff and the players. They also understand that I have also played the game and know something about it.”

Kariyapperuma, who played cricket for Ananda in 1983 and 1984, holds a unique record with Anura de Silva of Nalanda College as the only batsmen to be dismissed for 99 in the Battle of the Maroons cricket encounter series between the two schools. Kariyapperuma was out for 99 in the 1984 Big Match. After finishing school, he played for CCC, JEDB in the Nationalised Services tournament, Finlays and Colombo Tea Traders. He also excelled in the disciplines of tennis, hockey and table tennis.