Jayantha Dharmadasa, vice president of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), has completely been sidelined by legendary Aravinda de Silva led cricket advisory committee, Cricket Age reliably learns.
Dharmadasa, close ally of Rajapaksa family, is overseeing International Cricket at SLC and is considered as one of the top decision maker. However, after De Silva led so called cricket advisory committee’s appointment, his position has weakened significantly.
According to sources, recently his recommendation to appoint Mahinda Halangoda as national team manager was thrown into the dustbin by cricket advisory committee, in which so called flag bearers like Kumar Sangakkara, Muttiah Muralitharan are also members.
“He (Dharmadasa) wants Mahinda Halangoda as team manager, replacing present manager Manuja Kariapperuma. However, Cricket Committee has shown no interest in acknowledging Dharmadasa’s plea” an Insider at SLC told Cricket Age.
According to team insiders, Manuja Kariapperuma has failed miserably as manager and was a disaster during recently concluded England tour. However, as he is close to Thilanga Sumathipala, former SLC president who was embarrassingly kicked out from the cricket over match fixing but is still daydreaming of a return, Aravinda led cricket advisory committee is afraid to remove him.
“Mr. Dharmadasa is trying to change the team manager since months, but cricket advisory committee is not listening to him. He is completely helpless, even after being SLC vice president” the Insider added.
And it’s not the first occasion, when Dharmadasa was ignored. Cricket Age understands that right after Aravinda de Silva’s arrival, he was sidelined deliberately. So much so that, at one point, Dharmadasa had even threatened to resign, but was convinced by SLC top brass somehow.
“He and Aravinda are not on the same page. Appointing team manager comes under Dharmadasa, but cricket advisory committee’s involvement has messed up things big time” the Insider added further.
It’s noteworthy that so called cricket advisory committee was appointed by country’s Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa. The Motive behind this was to smooth the cricket functioning. However, now it has become a mess, as it’s completely controlled by Aravinda only. Other members, particularly Sangakkara and Murali are there only for the formality (they are busy in IPL and other coaching assignments around the globe, like another flag bearer Mahela Jayawardene).
