Defending Charith Asalanka & et al.

On 11 November, a suicide attack outside a court in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad killed 12 people and injured at least 27 others. The tragedy coincided with the one-day series between Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and the hotel at which the Sri Lankan cricketers were hosted was situated in the same city. After the attack, reports emerged that a few cricketers of the national team wanted to return to the country in view of the concerns for their safety.

The Sri Lankan media reported that one-day captain Charith Asalanka was at the forefront of convincing his teammates to leave the tour abruptly. Following the chaos, rumours emerged Sri Lanka Cricket – the administrative body of the game – was angered by the conduct of the left-handed batsman, and the authorities were looking to strip him off from the captaincy in addition to banning from international cricket for a period of 3 years. Ostensibly, one Cricket writer cum Basketball coach was carrying out a vindictive attack against the old Richmondite after the latter’s alleged attempt to leave the tour midway together with his fellow players.

Pundits in the country delivered the verdict that Sri Lankan cricketers should have continued the tour irrespective of the deteriorating security situation in Pakistan and threats to their lives. The judgement was based on the need to demonstrate gratitude to Pakistan as Pakistani cricketers came and played an exhibition match against Sri Lanka in 1996 when the cricket teams of Australia and the West Indies refused to come to the island for the 1996 World Cup games due to the war situation in the country. Ignorant observers have forgotten that the Sri Lankan cricket community has reciprocated the goodwill that was extended by Pakistani cricketers 3 decades ago on a number of occasions. Skewed analysts have overlooked how our cricketers almost lost their lives in 2009 in the quest to show gratitude to Pakistan. The former Sri Lankan cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan after the ordeal even alluded that police and army personnel who were involved in providing security to them could have tipped off the terrorists who attacked the Sri Lankan cricketers 16 years ago in Lahore. The tour was made at a time when no international cricket team was willing to travel to Pakistan. Most of the present national cricketers would not have even been born in 1996 and the widely recalled gesture of goodwill by Pakistani cricketers has little or no relevance to this group of players.

Those who harshly criticised Asalanka and others did not for one second consider the concerns and fears of the families and relatives of the cricketers. Wasn’t it only last Monday the headquarters a Pakistani paramilitary force was attacked by suicide bombers? Can any fair-minded individual criticise the players for refusing to continue with the tour amidst high-profile places of the Pakistani security establishment getting hit by terrorists? Even in the recent past, the Government of Pakistan itself has accused the neighbouring Afghanistan of aiding terrorist attacks in their backyard. In 2023, an official assessment by Pakistan’s National Counter-Terrorism Authority and other government bodies identified that 41 terrorist organisations were active with varying degrees of operations. Officially, Sri Lanka Cricket has maintained that Charith returned to Sri Lanka mid-way of the Pakistan tour due ill-health. Nevertheless, what fault Charith Asalanka has committed to be considered for possible suspension from the game for 3 years? Should Asalanka be stripped from captaincy, who would replace him? The cricketer from Galle has played 80 ODI games and accumulated an impressive batting average of nearly 43 with an outstanding strike rate of almost 91. How can a player of such credentials be dropped for flimsy and trivial reasons? One of the causes for the downfall of the most popular sport in the country is the unfair and agenda-driven propaganda by those with vested interests. The lives of cricketers are more important than everything else, and the public needs to refrain from unreasonable and unjust criticism of players.