19 March, 2024

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Thilanga Says Construction Of Sooriyaweva Stadium Drained Coffers Of SLC

Former Chairman of Sri Lanka Cricket, Parliamentarian Thilanga Sumathipala charged that the Joint Opposition was attempting to destroy cricket by politicizing every aspect of it.

Thilanga Sumathipala

Speaking in Parliament today, Sumathipala said a whopping Rs.6 Billion was spent to construct a cricket ground in Sooriyaweva, in the Hambantota district. This, he said, drained the coffers of Sri Lankan cricket and the government had to intervene to repay the loans obtained for the construction.

Sumathipala made these remarks responding to the adjournment motion presented by UPFA Kanchana Wijesekera on the current status of Sri Lankan Cricket.

“The rogues who were responsible for this were never apprehended. I regret that I could not pursue the matter when I was the Sri Lanka Cricket Chairman. I request the current Sports Minister to look into this fraud,” Sumathipala said.

Sumathipala described himself as an ‘honourable man’ who managed to save Rs. 2.8 billion in the accounts of Sri Lanka Cricket.

“I, as the SLC Chairman, never had political interferences. If someone is trying to make political interventions at this point, that is only for selfish gains. Such interlopers do not have any understanding of cricket nor do they have an iota of intelligence,” he said, dubbing those who question his integrity as “mere contractors.”.

The former Sri Lanka Cricket Chairman said the sole purpose of the adjournment debate was to sling mud at those who are involved in the game.

“Sri Lanka Cricket was not built by just one or two people. The effort of many people went into it. This attempt of politicization, I must say, will destroy the collective effort of everyone,” he added.

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Latest comments

  • 14
    0

    SL loves Cricket. It was the favourite sports in our schools, North and South. The growth to Test status was an arduous struggle. But, we did it. During those days, politicians were never seen on or off the field.
    .
    I remember travelling from Jaffna to Colombo just to see Australia, on its stop over (they used to travel by ships, those days) at Colombo, on their way to England. I had a return ticket (because it was cheaper; I was just a student). Straight from Fort station to The Oval and back to the station to catch my train back.
    .
    Such was the allure of Cricket.
    .
    Politicians have ruined our Sport. That includes Thilanga Sumathipala.

    • 3
      0

      Thappu,

      You bring back happy memories of a time when Cricket was a cleaner game.

      The problems started when Sri Lanka won the World Cup in 1996, and Cricket became a honey pot that attracted politicians, bookies, and a lot of other mostly unsavoury characters all keen to get their hands on the vast amount of moolah that was being generated.

      The current sad situation was sometime coming and many people raised alarms but the politicians swept the problems under the carpet. Now the shit has hit the fan, the culprits will soon hit the floor.

      • 2
        1

        Spring Koha

        “The current sad situation was sometime coming and many people raised alarms but the politicians swept the problems under the carpet.”

        Is it because Dutta Gamani was involved in seriously promoting test cricket in the early 1980s? I suppose it is sad he is no longer alive to reap the benefits from his investment. How about his sons Nayakas? Are they involved in Cricket as it seem a good venture to make money?
        Forget the morals.

  • 7
    0

    Is it just coincidence Sumathipala is making himself visible following the Asia Cup debacle? Please remember that India avoided a loss to Hong Kong by the skin of their teeth.
    Ranatunge brother are still in bed. They will be out soon.
    Let the ‘Control SLC game’ begin. We are the losers.

  • 7
    0

    Thilanga Sumathipala NAtional list MP appointed by the PResident and Sumathipala spent for the presidential election. So this pay back is fair.

  • 10
    0

    Its time the Minister of Sports to have guts and sack the entire Cricket Board from top down and give it to Sangakkara, Malinga, Muralitharan and Angelo to manage it.

    • 5
      0

      Buddhist
      You have forgotten to add the names like Dilshan Mohamed Tillakaretna. Marvin Attapattu etc

    • 4
      1

      The venal and mendacious Rajapakses ruined the economy, weakened the safeguards that assured the political independence of the country, the hitherto neutral judiciary, recklessly interfered with the average existing law and order machinery,
      sanitised crime/drug trafficking and brought new “respect and political influence” to crime lords (remember the Welikade jail massacre of criminals opposed to drug-traffickers within the regime), plundered the financial resources of the country where the value of the US$ rose from the Rs.100 level to over Rs.165 making every single citizen pay for their thievery – and many more. And now we are told our much endeared Cricket world, that brought such goodwill and respect for the country was ruined by their narrow political scheming.

      And yet there remain millions (95% educated, we are proudly told) who may vote for them in the next General Elections!!! What’s wrong with our people – the world may be excused if they wondered.
      Is the old saying Sinhalaya Modaya totally irrelevant??

      Backlash

      • 8
        1

        Backlash

        Remember the 2004 Tsunami, and how the whole world felt our pain. How every country came to our aid.
        Do you think they will give a damn if half of our goes to blazes today?
        After the Rajapaksa government we lost that respect as a country. After the damage they caused, as you have stated, we are just another Banana Republic.
        We may have won the LTTE battle but we lost everything after that. What a pity.
        They still come out and shamelessly talk to people and give us BS everyday and we continue to swallow. Shame on us. How can such unscrupulous people be allowed to prevail.

    • 3
      0

      How did you miss Mahela Jayawardene … ? His mastery is nothing inferior.

  • 10
    1

    I was in Hambantota two weeks ago, just returned to London.
    I visited the Airport, only ticket they sell at the airport is the visitor’s ticket, the airport is dysfunctional. From the main road it’s 20 miles drive on the newly laid road through the forest to reach airport, the workers turn up and sit around chatting. The greenery and the vegetation is dying, the water feature at the airport is turned off and dry. When you drive to the airport you get this feeling who the hell would build and airport here.
    Then I went to the Shangri La hotel for lunch. But there is no buffet or lunch. There are no guest the hotle is deserted. I heard during week-ends few golfers come to play Golf. And the hotel get active once a year for the New year’s eve party.
    The cricket grounds is a disaster, we were not allowed to visit the port.
    When you drive around Hambantota you could see the new building and the new roads. But there is a sense of weirdness and emptiness.

    What a colossus waste and corruption….and the present Government is unable to do anything about the previous corrupt regime and there is a possibility the clan may come to power.in the next general election

    I am not sure eve if the Port City is viable.! who is going to live there. which banks and corporations and offices will shift there? what will happen to the old Colombo ?

    Miracle of Asia or is it Mirage of Asia

  • 6
    0

    Not only the board, the management but the minister too should take responsibility for this debacle, and resigned for good. All idiotic donkeys and scoundrels are destroying the Sri Lanka Cricket for good owing to their over blown egos. Period. The countrymen should spit on their faces. Bunch of rascals born to destroy everything under the sun, and destroying at least the last thing the people had to enjoy out of all the pathetic things we have. People should show their shoes to these no good two cents worth God for saken monkeys.

  • 5
    0

    This is a SMS that I received on 7th July, 2011 on my phone .It says Auditor General Report say previous SLC Int. Com. operated without budgetary Action Plan 2005-08. Rs.4 billion difference detected. Sumathipala is correct that MARA took Rs. 60billion from SLC after he installed Nishantha Ranatunga [not Nishantha Wickremasingha] after he saw the big money. That was the time MARA was on a robbing spree. CB Ratnayake after he was appointed Sports Minister in 2010 or so. he said that SLC was the 3rd most corrupt institution in the country. He was removed immediately from the Ministry.. In that way the government facilitated bankrupting SLC’s and the slide continues.

  • 8
    0

    Horu wenuven horu.
    Patta horu started from MR BR GR NR YR CR and spilt over to Sevalaya

  • 4
    0

    While it is reported here that TS saying that the construction of a particular stadium drained the coffers, if I remember correct, the same allegation was leveled against TS for constructing another stadium somewhere in Dambullla. So the favorite past time of many in cricketing authority is to construct stadiums, finally to their advantage.

  • 6
    0

    Can any one understand the logic here. This is one among the clowns who was also the chairman of the board when the stadium was built and now claims not knowing anything about it and yet expected to know things now that he is in cabinet. I hope this guy at least knows what is going on in his own house. What kind of jokers are these. With these kind of morons are in charge people have the audacity to question the talent of our cricketers. Dude the efforts of the politicians of your kind is what is now reflected on our cricket team.I still remember the comedy of MR in the midst of world championships put pressure on some of the Lankan cricketers to get treatment from his personal physician/fraud and as a result Upul got suspended for using banned substance????. This is the management style of our national cricket team.(talk about political influence????) Our cricketers are the only one deserves credit for what ever pride we are left with.Not board,administration/politicians.Remember Minister of comedies Rambuk got his son to play solely by influence at the cost of another talented player. The show never ends in Lanka????

  • 8
    0

    It drained the SLC alright, they couldn’t afford to pay the players salaries for a while!
    But, you know what that means, it filled someone’s pockets to the brim.
    Of course we all know how that scoundrel is.
    Srilankan airlines is another excellent example of the handiwork of the same set of Bastards. Not to talk of Hambantota port, and the Airport.
    Colossal waste of money.
    Yet our idiots think they deserve another chance.
    I will tell you what they deserve, they deserve to be put behind bars and throw away the key.

  • 2
    1

    It was who politicized the SLC in the first place. Now that the table has turned against him, he is trying a “cry wolf” strategy.

    Sumathipala changed the voting system of electing Ex-Co members to the SLC, so that he could prevail for ever. He ignored the suggestions made by the Intellect committee comprising of several former Cricketers on the reformations of the SLC election process.

    Sumathipala has been brought into parliament by Mythripala using the National List, and thus he has no claim to be a “popular”politician, or to be a politician in any case.

    To me, all this nonsensical references are of no vain, whereas primary focus should on elevating our selves from the lowest ebb in history of Cricket, that we are in today.

    The suggested way forward plan:
    1. Cricketers @ the National level need to focus on performance. There should not be any free rides in the team , including the captain.
    2. Avenues should be created to enable the in-flow of talent to the National team, based on performance merit, and not any other factor.
    3. A proper Domestic Cricket Structure needs to developed, so that the Player who reach the National level are- per-screened, and thus leaving them with ONLY a Minimum Skill gap.
    4. There cannot be any “transition periods”, every time few senior members retire from National duty. This to me is an absurd excuse. According to some SLC officials, we are still transitioning post the retirement of Mahela, Sanga, et al.

  • 4
    0

    Thilanga S, was a bookmaker, and was sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for two years for obtaining a false passport for Dhammika Perera, a criminal.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thilanga_Sumathipala

    Naturally, he could not trace expenses of the Rs Six Billion, while being head of Cricket Administration !
    Now he has the best job in Sri Lanka – being an MP.

    • 2
      1

      To use Arjuna Ranatunga’s language “Bucket shop Mudalalis are ruining the game” They certainly are. But the Ranatunga family
      is doing the same thing too. Has this habit of carting Buddhist
      priests to chant pirith before the teams emplane – an idea said to be
      of the scheming Arjuna R – bringing bad luck to Cricket? This cheap
      trick also embarrasses players of other religions in the team. Or has
      the culture of majoritarianism assumed a new philosophy that all players better be Sinhala Buddhists. Why not hand over the ailing Cricket Board to one of the various Mahanayakas hobbknobbing with politicos?

      Frank N. Stein

      • 2
        1

        Frank N. Stein

        “Why not hand over the ailing Cricket Board to one of the various Mahanayakas hobbknobbing with politicos?”

        Well said.
        Can we not hand over the administration of the entire country to the Mahanayakes who seem to be experts on everything?
        It will save them time from meeting the crooks, criminals and war criminals day in day out.

        A theocracy is long overdue.

  • 1
    0

    What the heck is this big deal on the cricket. The Tamils studied hard and passed Administrative services exam. Now JVP says the crooks have cancelled the exam result after 1 year. Watch that game man, Lankawe plays. It is more interesting than cricket. 1971 Standardization in the Administrative services too.

  • 0
    0

    IF journalists can the way through, Thilanga Sumathipala would say, I gave the contract and they will pay me, So nothing wrong and it is legal as the politicians are allowed to offer Tenders.

  • 1
    0

    He was a mere stoog and thug of Rajapakase rathan than a minister under his regime. Dog barks against the former keeper and nowhere to go. Thilanka became a stray dog now (sorry if I offend) !!!

  • 0
    0

    No offence taken Mirak (if at all dogs may feel offended for comparison)

  • 0
    0

    Mallaiyuran says ‘The Tamils studied hard and passed Administrative services exam.’ what a joke. Cyril Mathew showed us how they pass exams

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