In last six months, Thilanga Sumathipala has lost everything – SLC Presidency, Deputy Speaker post and credentials. Now, in a bid to resurrect himself, he is once again trying hard to come closer to former Sri Lanka president Mahinda Rajapaksa. However, it’s not going to be an easy task for Sumathipala, as his enemies are determined to stop him at any cost.
When Cricket Age published a story about another hearing of Former Sri Lanka Cricket Board (SLC) secretary Nishantha Ranatunga court case filed against Thilanga Sumathipala on September 3rd, one former player came out with a honest assessment.
“This is life. You can’t be a superman forever. Just few months ago, he was the undisputed king of Sri Lanka Cricket. Now, all the possibilities of a comeback for him have disappeared” the former player said, while commenting on Sumathipala’s attempts to bring back to SLC.
Sumathipala Led administration had to leave the SLC on May 31st, after Nishantha filed a case against the validity of the election. Since then, Sports Minister Faizer Mustapha has taken over SLC and his Secretary Kamal Padmasiri is running the show as Competent Authority.
For few months, it was all good for Sumathipala, even though he was not officially at helm at SLC. Loyalist like Hashan Tillakaratne and Graeme Labrooy were going behind him to get approval of Cricket related matters, SLC CEO Ashley De Silva was happily following his orders on phone after getting salary increment on the last day. It was like, Sumathipala was running the SLC from his home at Punchi Borella!
The scenario has changed significantly now. As Faizer Mustapha gradually understood the ABCD of Cricket, he started to walk away from Sumathipala’s reach. Moreover, like Sumathipala, Faizer Mustapha has also been keeping an eye on his political future. So, he started to use SLC as a platform to strengthen his political campaign! There are talks that he is keen to contest from Colombo central from UNP. So, no surprise that MY3 is no more that important for Faizer. In this scenario, he has nothing to do with Sumathipala, as he has been considered as one of the closest associate of MY3.
Moreover, as soon as Faizer stopped favoring Sumathipala, Ashley and Jerome quickly followed the same path. There were talks that when Sumathipala went to Dambulla Stadium to inspect the pitch the day before first match against South Africa, SLC Top officials (particularly COO Jerome Jayarathne) we’re reluctant to meet Sumathipala.
Now, in a bid to resurrect himself, Sumathipala has taken a decision of another ‘political crossover’. Yesterday, he openly participated in a protest organized by Mahinda Rajapaksa Camp and thus made it clear that now he is also against MY3.
There were talks like this since months though. When Hashan and Apsari Tillakaratne mysteriously got job and extension respectively by Sumathipala, people described it as an attempt to get close to Rajapaksa’s. For years, Both Hashan and Apsari have been spreading this lie to be closest of top most politicians and using their names for their benefits.
Yesterday, Sumathipala made it clear it publicly that now he supports Rajapaksa’s!
And, to be honest, he is no other choice! Sumathipala’s dominance at SLC has always been maintained by his political guardians. For his cricket dominance, he has used Ranil Wickramsinghe, Sirisena, Rajapaksa’s in past as well. With political backing, he had become that much powerful over the years that he never allowed his enemies (including some all time greats of Sri Lanka Cricket) to cross the Maitland place.
Now, with the backing of Rajapaksa, Sumathipala wants to regain that dominance once again.
However, it’s not going to be that much easier. For a change, this time all his enemies have been united. Forget about the cricket, his political enemies have also got together. And, they all have a common task : to stop Sumathipala to resurrect at any cost. Therefore, there are serious doubts over his attempt to get closer with Rajapaksa’s.
“For years, he acted like a king. in that way, he made everyone his enemy. Now, those enemies are determined to stop him. They will never allow Sumathipala to reunite with Rajapaksa’s” a top UNP leader, who is a passionate follower of cricket, told Cricket Age.
Sumathipala, though, still trying, by ignoring the simple rule of the life that you can’t be Superman forever!
