- Dilshan, Sugath, Shehan enter the fray
Sri Lanka’s former cricket Captain Arjuna Ranatunga, who reportedly backed the presidential aspirations of former Opposition and Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Leader Sajith Premadasa ahead of the 21 September Presidential Poll, has opted to stay clear of party politics for the foreseeable future, informed sources have told The Sunday Morning Sports.
It is learnt that due to this reason, the country’s 1996 World Cup-winning skipper had decided against contesting next month’s Parliamentary Elections from the SJB ticket, for which the acceptance of nominations closed at 12 noon last Friday (11) at the Elections Secretariat.
A source close to the former maverick cricketer-turned-firebrand politician said that Ranatunga had received an invitation to contest the 14 November poll from the SJB for the Gampaha District.
However, he added that the ex-player had politely declined the offer, insisting that he preferred to devote time to humanitarian causes while striving to help develop the sports sphere as and when time permitted, as he also had to juggle his business commitments overseas.
Meanwhile, two other prominent former sports personalities have entered the fray ahead of the November poll in a bid to step into the 10th Legislature as fully-fledged lawmakers.
They are former cricket Captain Tillakaratne Dilshan who is contesting the Kalutara District under the ticket of the newly-formed United Democratic Voice (UDV) and ex-Olympian Sugath Thilakaratne, who is on the National List of the National People’s Power (NPP).
In the run up to last September’s Presidential Poll, Dilshan, 47, who has renounced his Australian citizenship, had reportedly joined the Premadasa-led SJB and had been duly appointed as its Kalutara Chief Organiser.
However, in a stunning volte-face, the former cricketer has since ditched the SJB and joined the UDV as its National Organiser, with the party being led by controversial actor-turned-politician Ranjan Ramanayake.
This will however be the first time that former 400 m champion Thilakaratne will be stepping into mainstream politics from the NPP since his retirement from the track over 20 years ago.
Thilakaratne, 51, the poster boy for Sri Lankan athletics in the ’90s, has represented the country at numerous international events and won a number of medals including Gold at the Asian Games in his 400 m event.
The former President of Sri Lanka Athletics (SLA) won a Gold medal each at the Asian Championships held in Fukuoka, Japan and the Asian Games in Bangkok, Thailand in 1998.
He also won a Bronze medal each at the Commonwealth Games in Malaysia in 1998 and the Asian Championships held in Colombo in 2002, while having many international accolades to his credit besides competing at the Asian level.
Thilakaratne has represented Sri Lanka at four International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) World Championships, two IAAF World Cups, and two Summer Olympic Games – in 1996 in Atlanta, US and in 2000 in Sydney, Australia.
One of his finest achievements was beating star US 400 m sprinter Michael Johnson in a preliminary round at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996.
In the meantime, South Asia’s one-time fastest man Shehan Ambepitiya too has decided to enter politics via the Sarvajana Balaya led by entrepreneur Dilith Jayaweera.
Ambepitiya, 34, who excelled in both the 100 m and 200 m sprint events in his track-and-field career, is set to enter the House via the party’s National List.