- Was the former batter banned in 2017?
Ex-Sri Lanka batter Chamara Silva has been appointed as the head coach of the Sri Lanka Under-19 team on a contract valid from 1 March 2025 to 31 December 2026, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ashley de Silva said yesterday (25).
He said following the contract, Silva’s performance will be evaluated and a decision would be made on whether it should be extended or not.
Silva, 45, a level-three qualified coach is expected to take charge of the national team for their home One-Day series against Bangladesh, which is scheduled to start at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium (MRICS), Hambanthota on 26 April.
Chamara Silva, a right-handed batter who once drew comparisons to former Sri Lanka batting great Aravinda de Silva at the start of his career and an occasional leg-break bowler, represented the country from 1999 to 2011.
He excelled mostly in ODIs winning 75 caps and scoring 1587 runs with 13 half centuries and a century for an average of 28.85, while in 11 Tests he scored 537 runs with two fifties and a ton, for an average of 33.56.
He also played in 16 T20Is, but despite being a prolific run-getter in the domestic circuit, he nonetheless failed to parley his talents onto the international arena and as an outcome couldn’t nail a permanent spot in the national team.
The Royal Panadura old boy broke into the national team, as a beneficiary of the youth policy adopted by then Chairperson of selectors Sidath Wettimuny.
His mannerisms while batting-specially the bow-legged stance and flamboyant cover drives- soon attracted comparisons to Aravinda, but despite being a gifted player, he struggled to emulate the deeds of the former master batter, ultimately fading off the scene.
He was also controversially banned by Sri Lanka Cricket for breaching the spirit of the game with allusions to match-fixing, during a domestic first-class match between Panadura Cricket Club and the Kalutara Physical Culture Club back in 2017.
However, the SLC CEO refuted suggestions that Silva, who led Panadura Cricket Club, was ever slapped with a two-year ban from all cricket-related activities, though media reports at the time were contrary to it.
ESPN Cricinfo had reported at the time that the ruling had come after a seven-month long inquiry done by an independent committee in the Tier B first-class match between the said two clubs, played from 23-25 January, 2017 and which had featured unusual scoring rates.
The website further reported that many others were also banned for their participation in the game in question, including Kalutara captain Manoj Deshapriya for a two-year period.
It added that remaining players, coaches and administrators were all imposed with one-year bans, while the clubs were each fined 500.000 rupees.
According to ESPN Cricinfo, the result of the match had been discounted which meant Sri Lanka Ports Authority Cricket Club earned promotion to Tier A instead of Panadura, with Kalutara facing demotion.
Silva’s immediate challenge will be to prepare his charges for the ICC Men’s Under-19 World Cup, which is due to get underway in Zimbabwe and Namibia early next year.