Snags in our sports

The never ending problems in the sports arena continues with some controversial findings of the National Sports Council (NSC) influencing the Sports Minister Gamini Lokuge to make a couple of shock decisions on the national rugby selections and on Baduraliya Cricket Club, which has surprisingly been selected as 11th team to play in the premier league.

Apart from the shock dissolution of the national rugby selection committee by the Sports Minister and the decision to retain Baduraliya CC in the premier league on the instructions of the NSC, Sri Lanka sport suffered another blow when Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) suffered a double blow, financially.

Minister Lokuge, acting on the recommendations of the NSC, headed by reputed consultant surgeon and former Sri Lanka player Dr. Maiya Gunasekera, sacked the national rugby selection committee chaired by Japuna Jayawardena. Why were they sacked? Apparently for selecting Dushanth Lewke to lead Sri Lanka national rugby team and maintaining discipline by rejecting to entertain Kandy Sports Club players who boycotted pool practices in protest.

None of the previous selectors were included in the new national rugby selection committee. Who are the people in the new national selection committee and what are their affiliations? Ask anybody connected to rugby and they would tell the backgrounds of some of those new selectors and who the real godfathers are!

We are not backing any individual or whether Lewke become captain or not. Let the best players with right leadership qualities and experience, be he from Colombo or Kandy, lead the national team. But our worry is discipline.

How could Kandy Sports Club players dictate terms to national selectors? By entertaining such players, the Sports Minister has got a precedent.

It was the Kandy Sports Club players who boycotted practices of the national pool, protesting against the appointment of Dushanth Lewke as captain of the Sri Lanka team. How could players, or even a member club for that matter, question decisions of selectors? What will happen if this bad example spreads to other sports? Who would be held responsible then? Will the Sports Minister sack other selection committees if there are similar protests?

Discipline should always come first, irrespective of individuals, club affiliations or politics. It is one of the most important factors of sport and a basic principle. If players could dictate terms and become influential in sacking the selectors for not picking the captain the players want, what is the example we are setting for younger generation?

If the Sports Minister was not happy with the selections and if there have been unfair decisions, those should be rectified in a different way, rather than surrendering to the demands of a few players from a club.

Unfortunately, the NSC has failed to realise this bitter fact, despite the fact it comprise of enough and more respectable sports personalities of yesteryear.

When the new rugby selectors came to see the national poolists in action at Police Park on Tuesday evening, they wanted a practice match. The entire batch of Kandy SC 'rebels' formed one side with a couple of Police SC players against the rest of the national poolists and the latter beat them by a comprehensive margin. Having found the true colours of the Kandy SC players, who have boycotted national pool practices, and their present level of fitness, compared to the rest, the electors ordered anther practice game and there too the team which had the majority of Kandy SC players ate humble pie.

The two South African coaches in-charge of the national pool - Simon Dawie and Norman Lalev were apparently not impressed with the performance of the Kandy SC players. We understand that the two reputed coaches have sounded that the best players, considering both talent as well as physical fitness, should make it to the team, irrespective of petty club politics. The duo has apparently said that they are not interested in local sports politics but only want the best team.

Dawie and Lalev are perfectly right. True they do not have a say in team selections but we should give them the best team. They do not wish to lose their reputation as international coaches.

The other controversial recommendation of the NSC to the Sports Minister was with regard to Baduraliya SC, which should have been demoted to Tier 'B' of the Primer League after finishing bottom of last year's tournament's Tier 'A'.

Thanks to a top official of the club who does the rounds for some of the cricket officials, the SLC controversially decided to keep Baduraliya SC in Tier 'A' without demoting them to the Tier 'B' as stipulated by tournament rules, which accommodates only ten clubs in Tier 'A' of the Premier League.

But with the SLC deciding to 'help' Baduraliya CC, there are 11 clubs in Tier 'A' of the Premier League.

Though the club officials met Minister Lokuge on Tuesday, they failed to arrive at a decision. It seems that the commencement of the 2008 Premier League would be further delayed as the Minister has called another meeting with the club officials, National Sports Council and the Sri Lanka Cricket.

The SLC seems to be in the wilderness and are set to lose both the England tour and financial benefits from the Indian Cricket Board. It all began when the SLC went ahead and signed for an unscheduled tour of England next year to replace Zimbabwe. This tour was not down in the ICC's Future Tour Program.

The SLC did this in good faith to get a big guarantee fee to fill its coffers. But then came the issue of releasing some of the national players selected to play in the Indian Premier League. In order to retain both the players and financial benefits, the SLC prepared to accept a Rs. 70 million lucrative deal with the Indian Cricket Board. But now, England has knocked Sri Lanka off and found the West Indies as a replacement.