Asanka Wijewardena, who is currently one of the most popular player managers in Sri Lanka, has taken the profession to a different level. A product of D.S. Senanayake College, Wijewardena lived in the United Kingdom since age 18. He has a master’s degree in management, and is the Director of Field Power Sports at present. He is currently managing many national cricketers, including current white-ball skipper Dasun Shanaka, Kusal Mendis, Lahiru Kumara, and young Dunith Wellalage. The Daily Morning had a chat with him regarding the profession, and the challenges he faces in the market.
The following is an excerpt from the interview:
How did you get into player management?
I have always been a cricket fan; I was close to many cricket players ever since I was a kid. I had neighbours who made it to Sri Lanka cricket, for example, Avishka Gunawardane and Thilina Kandamby; I grew up with them. Because of that, I was very much into cricket, and then I started following them. I used to go watch them play when I was living in England, and follow them in other countries. When they wanted things done, I had all the contacts to get what was required. That’s when a cricket bat manufacturer suggested to me that, since I always help these guys out and hang out with them, I should consider doing this as a professional player manager. “Since you know all the contacts, it’ll be easy for you to manage,” they said. I started doing this professionally about 8 years ago.
How would you explain your role as a player manager? What are your key responsibilities?
You can't just pinpoint one thing. For example, there’s basic stuff, like sorting out a bat contract for them. I think that's the most basic thing that any player would want. When I want to manage a player, and when a player starts playing cricket, they need support. For them, the most basic thing is a bat sponsorship, which is very hard to get if you're not in the national side. This is because bat manufacturers will not simply give a contract if there's no benefit to them. So, I have to persuade them by showing the player’s potential to make it to the national side down the line.
Once they get into the national side, you look after them. That's one of the basic things that we start from, and after that, upon reaching a certain stage, we need to look after how he is doing in his career. How to choose the right club, choosing the right path, the right practice methods, handling their finances… We look into all aspects of the players, except their personal lives.
How important do you think is the role of a player manager? This profession is fairly new to the country.
It's new to Sri Lanka, but it's been around internationally for any sport. As a matter of fact, any industry, any professional artist, and any sportsperson has a manager nowadays. It is very important because the world has changed, and without a manager you won't be able to survive. This is because there are so many opportunities apart from playing sports that you need to look into. If you don't have expertise on those matters, you're going to struggle; managing time is going to be very hard in addition. You're not going to be in the same place the whole time. So you need somebody to handle such matters, so that the player can concentrate on the sport.
Are there certain qualifications that you think you need in order to become a player manager?
It's mainly man management; you should be a good man manager to become a sports agent. There are no educational qualifications required for it. But I do have a master's degree in management – I studied in England. I don't think you need a particular qualification. I think having contacts with coaches helps; for example, Vimukthi Deshapriya – who is assistant coach at SSC – is working with a lot of younger players. He would tell me how these players have the potential to make it all the way. Likewise, I have other people in the industry who are coaches at the highest level. I was good friends with Graham Ford, who told me to sign Lahiru Kumara because he thought he was good, and that he's going to make it. In this way, you need to have a network to succeed in the profession.
In your opinion, what is the most important factor in being a player manager?
The most important thing is to look after outside noise apart from the sport. The sport aspect is totally up to the player to concentrate on. But you need to look into other aspects of it, like how we handle social media or how we go about day-to-day life. That sort of thing falls on me; they are more important to me than getting directly involved in cricket.
Player management came to Sri Lanka only recently. Many of the former legends have a negative approach to it. What do you feel about that?
I would say it’s due to lack of knowledge. Because what they need to understand is that the era they played in and the current era are totally different. We hardly had any matches back then. We didn't have the T20 format. We didn't have franchise cricket. Back in the day, we had only about three test matches and five one-day matches a year. Now there are more test matches, more one-day matches, and adding to that, there is franchise cricket – which we cannot forget. In this environment, anybody would need a manager. Some of these legends who refused managers back in the day now have managers.
Many have complained that these player managers are only concerned about the monetary side of things. Is there any truth to it?
I can only talk on my own behalf. There might be a few people who are just interested in making money, but in my case, if I could see all my players playing for Sri Lanka, that would be the most important thing. But I think it's up to the individual. Having said that, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), as I have always suggested, should have some sort of regulation for player managers. They should get the International Cricket Council’s anti-corruption unit to do background checks on them. They should get more involved with the SLC rather than have the latter refuse them. I don't think SLC has an issue with it anymore, but I think there should be some sort of regulation so that only genuine people get into the business.
It is said to be a very lucrative profession. Is it true, and how do you earn from it?
It's true to a certain extent. If you look at Sri Lanka, it's a very small market. Therefore, endorsements and similar matters are not comparable to representing someone in India. What we earn here is nothing compared to what they earn in India. We don't make anything out of national contracts. You're not allowed to make anything out of national contracts. I personally don't charge anything from the Lanka Premier League because it is a local tournament, but I know that some others do. I only charge 10% of what I acquire for them. For example, if I get them an endorsement or a foreign league, I take 10% out of it. Even the act of getting foreign leagues is very hard with the national calendar, so I have most of my players playing for the national side. I have 15 players who represent Sri Lanka at some point, and getting them a no-objection certificate (NOC) is not easy. Some managers actually prefer representing players who are not on the national side because then it is easy to get the NOC. But I would prefer to have my players representing the country, even though I don't make any money out of it.
Do you have any plans of moving out of cricket to other sports in the country?
To be honest, we have a very small market even in cricket. Therefore, I cannot see any other sport having money-making potential. Rugby is the most popular after cricket, but I doubt there is enough interest to find sponsors at the moment. No, I think I'd rather stick to cricket, because it's not easy handling all these players.
If you take athletics, apart from Yupun Abeykoon, I'm not really knowledgeable about any other athlete. I would struggle to get into a field in which I have no knowledge. If I can find sponsorship, then I'd be more than happy to work with them. Rather than simply signing someone up for the sake of doing so, I need to give him something. Even when it comes to cricket players, I tell them: “Let me first find you a contract, and then we can move forward.” If he is happy with it, he could select me as his manager. Coming back to other sports, at the moment my plate is full, but let’s see in the future.
How many players do we have in contract at the moment?
I have 25 players; that's including domestic and under-19 players. I have three female players. All told, I have 12 who have represented the national side. If you are above 18, you are allowed to sign, but I always speak to their parents first. I'm in touch with most of my players’ parents. For example, I always talk to Dunith Wellalage’s father. Most of the younger players reach out to me to manage them. I don’t need to go behind them because I have enough players as it is, and I have made a name for myself. So, they approach me first, and then I speak to their parents if they are young. Subsequently, I explain what player management is, and always give them the freedom to leave anytime they want to. Even if I signed a contract, they can leave anytime if they're not happy with my services.
Could you explain your stance on franchise cricket and how it is affecting bilateral cricket?
Whether we like it or not, it's a business now. As a result, there's going to be more franchise cricket happening around the world, from master cricket to U19 cricket. So, I think moving forward, there will be fewer bilateral cricket matches. I think 50-over matches will take place only every four years at the World Cup. I think 50-over games will die out because it is so hard to watch after the birth of T20 and The Hundred. Because of this, I think it's going to be like football in future. There'll be a lot of franchise cricket and the World Cup every four years. But I think test cricket will survive.
Photos Krishan Kariyawasam