In this week’s ‘Sri Lankan Sports Icons’ column, The Sunday Morning Sports features Rienzie T. Wijetilleke, one of Sri Lanka Cricket’s former administrators who stood against corruption at all costs. He was a part of the Interim Committee which was appointed by the Government after one of the worst performances by Sri Lanka at the 1999 World Cup. Wijetilleke and his team brought in some drastic changes which were ridiculed by some, but those changes made the difference as Sri Lanka reached great heights in the following years. A highly-respected banker who is now retired, Wijetilleke is still trying to do his part to help Sri Lanka Cricket reach its true potential. 

It’s been over a decade since you left cricket administration. What have you been up to since then and have you had any involvement in cricket during the last few years? 

It has been two decades since my short stint ended; I was drafted in for my administrative and management capabilities, not for any deep knowledge of cricket; for that I was lucky to have former Test cricketers such as Sidath Wettimuny, Michael Tissera, and others. 

I was involved in promoting young sportsmen and women through my time as CEO of HNB. You can ask many of Sri Lanka’s best cricketers, they will tell you that we hired them as means of national service, to allow them to gain some valuable work experience while prioritising their sports careers – Lasith Malinga, Russel Arnold, Kumar Dharmasena, Pramodaya Wickramasinghe, and many more. 

I recall once meeting Sumitra Peiris during an early morning walk at the Independence Square; she told me about some young athletes who had competed in the SAF Games and performed brilliantly, but noted that they did not speak English and would struggle to find good paying jobs to supplement their athletics careers. Sumitra inquired whether HNB might be willing to support these athletes in some way. To this extent I agreed to help them through HNB. 

I recall meeting Damayanthi Darsha, Sriyani Kulawansa, and Dhammika Menike – all of them were hard-working and I knew that this trio would excel because of that work ethic. Sriyani Kulawansa worked at HNB for quite some time, while training and competing.

As corporate citizens, I felt it was our duty to assist these talented Sri Lankans to reach their full potential; it’s something I’m personally very proud of. I know that some corporates still hire sportsmen and women simply to help them further their skills; I would urge many more to do the same, as presently, due to the economic collapse, many kids will decide that they cannot risk a career in sports and will simply join the workforce. I believe our children who show such extraordinary talent must be supported at all costs.  

Even from a strictly financial perspective, if a corporate takes on 10 athletes and one of them is successful on the national stage, the subsequent media and public relations boost to that organisation will be immense. The country itself will be better off if people with talent are able to prosper. I worry that due to the economic crisis, we will lose many talented athletes.

 

Could you tell us how you got into cricket administration in the first place and why?

Honestly, it was with much convincing that I took up the post when offered for the second or third time. Various people spoke to me over a two-week period and I declined to get involved each time; however when President Chandrika Kumaratunga personally made the call, I had no choice but to oblige. 

I always loved watching cricket, I was a fan. I also understand its intrinsic value to Sri Lanka and to our identity in this post-colonial era; remember, I was born while Sri Lanka was still a colony. For some Sri Lankans like myself, cricket is more than just a sport; it’s a source of national pride, a display of excellence on par with anything, anywhere in the world. 

As CEO of HNB I was extremely busy; I had also taken up various other initiatives so my plate was always full throughout my career. I had been reading in the newspapers intermittently regarding the crisis at the Cricket Board. There were various allegations of corruption and mismanagement, but of course to the fans like myself, what was really disappointing was the team’s performances, the culmination of which was a humiliation at the 1999 World Cup. 

I recall some strange opening partnerships and bringing back veterans over blooding youth; there seemed to be no succession plan, no strategy for the future. After the euphoria of 1996, the World Cup in 1999 was a real crash down to earth. We finished only above Kenya in the group of six, we were bowled out for 100 by South Africa, and India, Ganguly in particular, destroyed our bowling attack, scoring 180 odd and India reaching 370. 

When I considered the sorry state of the game in Sri Lanka, I felt some sense of duty as well. It was an opportunity to contribute something positive to the game. 

What are the key challenges you faced during your time in cricket administration?

My apprehensions surrounded the political issues that I would be faced with, which were many. There was all sorts of pressure from various quarters. The Selection Committee had various pressures placed on it as did the administration, but I’m proud to say that our Interim Committee and I withstood the pressure and we did our job at a crucial juncture in Sri Lanka’s cricketing history. 

We had to correct the mismanagement of finances and install a system of checks and balances and we also had to completely overhaul the playing side. The latter, as I mentioned, was run by people who had in-depth knowledge of the game; they had the expertise to make the decisions and I supported them without question.

Whether it was to reinstall Dav Whatmore as the coach, to request Arjuna to step aside and relinquish the captaincy, or to appoint Sanath Jayasuriya as Captain in both formats – all these decisions were controversial at the time, but looking back, I think we have been vindicated.

I recall specifically two very senior cricketers who had lost their place in the team following the ’99 World Cup debacle were asked to compete in the club tournament to prove their form and gain selection through merit. However, these two players had been invited to play for an exhibition match in Canada where they would be paid a hefty sum; it meant they would miss out on crucial games on the domestic circuit. 

The selectors told me that this exhibition tour was only important from the financial standpoint and that they would much rather the two senior cricketers stayed in Sri Lanka to work on their games and play the domestic tournament. When we denied them permission to go to Canada, I received a lot of pressure from various personalities, including the mother of one of the players! 

A gentle lady, she visited me at my office at HNB to ask permission for her son to play the exhibition match, noting the loss of income from not playing that match. I had to stand my ground and I impressed upon her that there are children around the country that are waiting to watch two of Sri Lanka’s top players in the domestic competition for the first time in many years; I also convinced her that if they succeeded in competing well and being selected for the next national tour, they would make up the lost earnings without any problem. Our priority had to be the national game. 

On the financial side, my meetings with the Executive Committee, management staff, and external auditors were very challenging. There was an audit report from PriceWaterhouseCoopers that revealed huge disparities in the construction of the Dambulla Cricket Stadium by the previous board. The project which was budgeted to cost Rs. 60 million in 1997 had ended up costing around Rs. 400 million, if my memory serves me right. I questioned staff continuously and made several reports for the Sports Minister and even the President. 

As you might imagine, various political forces were against our committee when we were pushing for full disclosures to the public. I received threats from some quarters; some colleagues even forced me to consult a security expert to take extra precautions. A member of the committee was invited to an ICC meeting in the UK. When our representative arrived in the UK, he found that the previous committee had brought an injunction against him, prohibiting him from attending. 

I recall the day on which the Interim Committee was to meet for the first time at the Cricket Board office in Colombo 7. When I arrived, I recall seeing some of the new committee members standing on the pavement outside the main gate. When I asked why they were not inside, I was told that the previous administration had locked the offices and told security not to let us into the building. I also heard that there were private security personnel in the building and we suspected that many documents which would have uncovered corruption were extracted from those offices. 

At various junctures, I clashed with the Sports Minister of the time and some other high-powered officials. I must say that, at all times, President Chandrika handled the matter with great professionalism and she did in fact support myself and the committee on several occasions when it would have been more politically expedient for her to do the opposite. Most of this was well covered in the press; even the story of the Sports Minister’s apology to me, at the behest of the President, was published in the papers.

However, ultimately, I knew I was fighting a losing battle. The political entrenchment at the Board of Control for Cricket (BCCSL as it was then known) was deep and we were finding it difficult to do our jobs. I tried to resign a few times but this was rejected, until sometime in 2001 I think I finally had enough and our entire committee resigned in unison. 

I want to pay tribute to those gentlemen that stood up for the game at that time: S. Skandakumar and Asantha De Mel, Sidath, and Skanda, among others, deserve special mention. It’s not always easy to get the right people in the right positions, but with these gentlemen, we had a great team. It was sad that it ended the way it did, but we also had to safeguard our reputations. 

What do you see as major changes in the sport today?

The commercialisation of cricket has taken off and this presents opportunities and challenges. The T20 game has opened up new doors for the game and for the players and staff. However, I remain a little bit resistant; I suppose I am from a different generation that views cricket primarily through the national prism. Cricket between countries is the real draw for me. Of course the T20 tournaments, the IPL are very entertaining, but they do not evoke the same sense of passion for me personally. 

I also see many players retire earlier from international cricket and go into club cricket, since they are able to make more money. I cannot blame them, athletes have a limited shelf-life and they recognise this, they know they have to provide for themselves and their families; it’s not easy and so I never begrudge the players for this. It is up to the administrators to make playing for your country the pinnacle, both in terms of prestige and finances. I hope Test cricket does not lose its premier position, as I believe it is the ultimate ‘test’ of a cricketer.

I also notice that cricketers are now much more athletic; this requires a lot of work and sacrifice, it requires the game to become even more professional. Our players need to become more professional in the way they live their lives. Some recent incidents that came into the public sphere bring the entire squad of professionals into disrepute. 

Why do you think discipline has declined among cricketers and how can this be tackled effectively?

It’s very disappointing. As a national cricketer, you are a representative of your country, your behaviour impacts upon stature; how some players can be so careless is beyond me. We have seen incidents involving misbehaviour on tour as well as shocking revelations off-season – car accidents and stories of boozing. Is it any wonder that results are mediocre? 

As the commercial side of the game grows, players become more powerful as well; they see themselves individually, not as part of a collective to represent the country. This is a cultural shift that has to happen, it has to come from the very top and at the very bottom of the cricket pyramid. Clubs and cricket schools have to build a professional culture; premier league cricket teams cannot devolve into social clubs. The clubs that feed into Sri Lanka cricket must themselves become more professional.

We were once a force to be reckoned with in white ball cricket, but now we have been reduced to playing qualifiers for the World Cup. What happened to Sri Lanka Cricket? 

Like much of Sri Lanka, the challenges remain around governance and management. I still see the politicisation of the board, I see many of the same personalities still involved at different levels. There was a time over the last 10 years that Sri Lanka cricket was unable to settle its contractual obligations with the players and suppliers. That shows a lack of management capacity, something that seeps into the layers below. 

How we were unable to attract major sponsors and support when we had some of the world’s most exciting talent is difficult to understand. To me, it stems from management; not having the right people in the right places and allowing special interests to take over. When politicians talk about underutilised national assets, cricket is one of the big ones! It has the power to take Sri Lanka to a global audience at a level of excellence that is world class and yet we struggle. 

Is it due to a lack of talent? No Sri Lankan believes that we lack the cricketing talent, whatever our shortcomings as a nation, cricketing talent is in abundance; we only need a reliable system to harness it. You have to depoliticise the board and the system of clubs which are easily manipulated by individuals with deep pockets. 

You are one of the former cricketers and administrators who signed the petition calling for the SLC constitution to be amended. What were the major changes you suggested?

It was to depoliticise the game, to take it out of the political sphere and into professional hands. I hope it succeeds. When a team is selected by the National Selection Committee, there should be no external pressures and no avenues for interference, be it from the sports minister or the Parliament of Sri Lanka. 

If the new constitution can set some strict guidelines to ensure governance, I believe Sri Lanka Cricket can reach the next phase in its development. We have to take special interests out of the game completely and treat the game as the most valuable of national assets and nurture it for the next generation. 

Would you point the finger solely at the administration for the decline in Sri Lanka’s performance?

Yes. The management must take responsibility. Performances can be up and down; sport is like that. However, successive failures in an organisational structure are not acceptable, if it keeps happening, there needs to be root and branch changes.

There is a lot of money that flows into the Cricket Board; is this money invested efficiently, do we see major improvements in cricket at the grassroots level? What about the players? Aside from the major stars, how is the second tier treated, are they given the right facilities to prosper?

What are the key steps we need to implement to get Sri Lanka Cricket back on track and standing tall again on the global stage?

Perhaps making the financial management and player contractual work completely independent from the team management and selection. Perhaps they can implement a better club structure to feed through the best talent in the game. 

I also believe that the top school cricketers need to be taken out of the system early or they become engulfed in the semi-professional culture that exists at club level. Young adults will easily get pulled into an unnecessary social life and cricket becomes secondary, their level of skills stagnates. 

Until we are able to build a truly world-class premier league system, the best and brightest school cricketers must be given a different path to the A team and Board Elevens, it’s the only way to ensure some medium term progression. 

The club game must change; we are rewarding players that score heavily in our local leagues, but the pitches are flat, grounds are small, and skills are not at the requisite level. This is why even the most talented cricketers falter in foreign conditions. There is too much of a comfort zone locally. Get some younger players to play abroad, even in the lower divisions of the UK, Australia, South Africa, on varying pitches; you will see a conveyor belt of players with different skill sets. 

There also needs to be consistency of selection. I notice some players are constantly being brought back into the fold, just like in the 1999 period, the veterans are being preferred. This is not a good sign. 

In conclusion, what are your words of advice for players – both experienced and upcoming?

It is a privilege to be able to support yourself while playing the sport you love. The time we spend exerting ourselves to our maximum physical limit at a high level is incredibly short. Enjoy it and cherish the opportunities in the knowledge that these experiences might be fleeting and are unlikely to present themselves for an extended period of time.

Cricket in particular, is a special game to us, it is something that’s now part of our national psyche, embedded in our culture, cricketers of the past from Sanath, Murali, Aravinda, Arjuna, Sanga, Mahela, Vaas, etc., they are more than just retired sportsmen, they defined an era and inspired a generation; that inspiration does not last forever, somebody else must carry that torch.

I hope youngsters look beyond their financial and material gains and see that those players that I have mentioned above have gained some level of immortality in the Sri Lankan consciousness; that is what the current crop have lost sight of – they are in a position where they can become heroes for many decades to come. Whatever your contract pays you, what you gain from developing yourself to your full potential and performing on the world stage is something that nobody will ever be able to take away from you.