End of the road for Atapattu

CRICKET: Sri Lanka’s cricket governing body Monday released former captain Marvan Atapattu from his contract, effectively ending his career with the national team.

“We decided at this evening’s committee meeting to release Marvan Atapattu from his contract from October 1,” Kangadaran Mathivanan, secretary of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) told AFP.

Atapattu on Friday sent a letter to the SLC requesting a release from his contract.

The SLC decision Monday appears to signal the end of the road for Atapattu, whose career began in 1990.

Atapattu, one of the most elegant right-handed opening batsmen in contemporary cricket, scored 5,330 runs in 88 Tests and 8,529 runs in One Day Internationals. He is one of just six players with an ‘A’-graded contract.

His contract with SLC runs till March 2008 and he is currently playing for the Lashings World XI in England.

Atapattu was overlooked by the Sri Lankan selectors for the entirety of the World Cup in the West Indies and the subsequent tour to Abu Dhabi for the One Day series with Pakistan. He and his former opening partner Sanath Jayasuriya have been linked to the proposed unofficial ICL series of matches in India.

Colombo, Tuesday, AFP