From mastermind to never mind

Rex Clementine in Bombay

When former captain Mahela Jayawardene was handed the reins of running cricket, everyone agreed that it was the right call. He was coming with some unprecedented success having guided Mumbai Indians to multiple titles in the IPL.

MJ was keen on working with the Under-19 side first, smart move you thought because that was exactly the blueprint Rahul Dravid had followed. Dravid had prepared the nucleus at youth level and by the time he became India coach, all the young players whom he had groomed at junior level were knocking on the doors of the senior side. Dravid has taken the Indian team to a different level while MJ has been an utter failure with Sri Lanka. What went wrong?

MJ undoubtedly is one of the brightest brains in our cricket. Arjuna Ranatunga once said that while captaining SSC, when he thinks of a move to dismiss a batsman, by the end of an over, MJ had come up with a better plan.

As Sri Lanka captain he was a godsend, always a step ahead. He had some brilliant players at his disposal, and he was smart enough to make most of them.

As coach though, why he got it wrong was because he relied too heavily on confidants. Key positions in cricket were handed to friends and on club loyalty. Most key positions of the national team be it the captaincies, post of Team Manager, Chairman of Selectors or ‘A’ team coach, no one beyond SSC were considered.

When Ashantha de Mel’s term as Chairman of Selectors ended, the names of several competent former cricketers were mentioned but MJ was hellbent on having incumbent Pramodya Wickremesinghe. MJ perhaps intended to control the selection process through one of his confidants.

But results have been disastrous. They launched a youth policy for white ball cricket alienating half a dozen seniors. Their fitness regime promising better results was used selectively. Initially, players who failed fitness tests were made ineligible for selection. But when certain players failed fitness tests, they played by a different set of rules. A bull in a China Shop is less troublesome than our Chief Selector.

Along with MJ, the selectors, Batting Coach, Bowling Coach, Fielding Coach and Physiotherapist the whole lot have to go.

Last year we faced an injury crisis in Australia. It is impossible to think that how a smart cooky like MJ failed to address the issue. The end result was that we were left with more injuries for this World Cup. How Lahiru Kumara breaks down after playing two games is inexplicable.

The MJ of good old days was a firm believer that there should be no political interference when it comes to team selections. But now he is a changed man. Just before the team departed for the World Cup, the selectors had called Dasun Shanaka to step down. It all changed dramatically in 24 hours and Dasun was back in the saddle. MJ did nothing. He kept quiet. He is a matured man and has now chosen to fight his battles carefully. How strange.

MJ was a vocal critic of our domestic structure and time and again he harped on the point that the number of teams competing in domestic cricket needs to be reduced.  A system has been introduced to relegate teams and make First Class competitive again. But there has been some interferences. MJ sees no evil. He is a reformed man.

Much was expected of MJ when he took over. Instead of being ruthless and straight forward, like he used to be, he has compromised. That was his downfall.

Under his watch, discipline in the team has eroded drastically. What happened during the tour of Australia is a case of point. Instead of those players being punished and kept at arm’s length, in a bid to introduce a good culture to the team, they have been tolerated.

As for the board, they are under pressure for some time now. Not only has the performances of the national team hit new lows under their watch, but they also seem just not care and are unwilling to introduce remedies. They seem to think that press is their biggest enemy, and they are being supported by corrupt politicians and crooked lawyers. Cricket sadly has suffered. Unless we shake up the system and find remedies, our cricket is going to go the West Indies way.