Charith Senanayake new Sri Lanka team manager
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) will be appointing Charith Senanayake as the Sri Lanka Team Manager today for the forthcoming tour of Australia, ending days of speculation who would take over the post from former Sri Lanka skipper Anura Tennekoon.
This would be the second time Senanayake will take over as the team manager having first taken the post in 2008.
Senanayake, 49, played three Tests against New Zealand on the 1991 tour, and seven ODIS in 1990 and 91 with moderate success.
Senanayake who is also a Marketing expert served Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) as the Head of Marketing for three years till last year, when the interim committee headed by D.S. de Silva did not renew his contract.
Senanayake had pointed out the lack of experience of the Singapore based Somerset Entertainment Ventures and had evaluated it as a company with a questionable background after doing research on the controversial company’s profile before the SLC struck a deal with them for the infamous Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL).
Analysts felt it probably cost him his job and his recall as Manager is even more interesting as Nishantha Ranatunga who was the Secretary of the then SLC interim committee is again in office as the Secretary at present and is also the Executive Director of the much talked about Sports TV Channel Carlton Sports Network (CSN) which had an agreement with Somerset Entertainment Ventures as their local broadcaster for the SLPL.
Senanayake’s inte grity and skill as an official is unquestioned and he interestingly began his first ter m as Sri Lanka team Manager also under strange circumstances.
He was working in Kenya and was in Sri Lanka on holiday when he was offered the job in 2008 when the then Sports Minister Gamini Lokuge stopped Hashan Tillekratne, who had been appointed to the post by SLC, and asked them to nominate someone else, on the brink of starting a tour against India.
The week-long dispute was eventually resolved in the eleventh hour, following a lengthy interim committee meeting on the eve of the first Test between Sri Lanka and India when Senanayake was finally appointed.
The post had become vacant when SLC decided to replace Air Vice Marshall Shriyan Samararatne, who had held the post since April 2007.
The appointment of a manager comes as part of SLC’S moves to give the Sri Lanka team a complete overhaul following the recent string of defeats.
These changes included changing the captain, coach, national selectors and even the manager.
Tennekoon was appointed the team manager in 2010 and several names emerged as his successor in the past few days before Senanayake was finally chosen.
By Channaka De Silva
As long as it is not Ranjit Fernando or Duleep Mendis it is OK
Charith is a good guy. I played with him at Ananda. He is a mature person who can handle the job. Good luck! Hiran G.
Why not Namal?