Thilanga Sumathipala’s stars are certainly not well placed these days. The former Sri Lanka Cricket Board (SLC) president has lost his not only his power at Maitland place, but also has weakened significantly in his political stature as well. On Wednesday, he organized lavish annual teledrama award function of his Sumathi group. However, a top most VIP guest skipped his award ceremony and instead opted for a overseas trip.
Sumathi Awards facilitates celebrities from the TV industry every year for their outstanding work and over the years it has become a Mega event in Colombo, as Sumathipala was the undisputed king : he was the SLC president and deputy speaker in parliament.
However, now as he has lost both the posts, this year’s award function was only a shadow of previous years.
According to sources, Sumathipala, who is trying hard to make a comeback at SLC, invited one of the VIP of the country for the award ceremony. The VIP accepted his invitation, but decided to skip it at the last moment. Instead, that VIP went for an overseas trip. In addition, the staff members were also absent from the award ceremony.
On the other hand, Some of Sumathipala’s closest associates from the SLC including Hashan and Apsari Tillakaratne and his former secretary Asanka Yatawara were present at the award. Apsari and Hashan Tillakaratne particularly have made it a habit to go behind everyone in Sri Lanka cricket for their benefits.
