Constructive Dismissal of Sanath Jayasuriya

By Helasingha Bandara

(December 23, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) In countries where there is law, constructive dismissal is illegal and can be contested at a court of law or an industrial tribunal. Even if a person resigns a post he/she can still sue the employers on constructive dismissal if he/she believes that the resignation was unavoidable under undue pressure, harassment, discrimination or subtle construction of it. In this light, let us see whether Sangakkara is constructing Sanath Jayasuriya’s dismissal.

This discourse, which is based on an article that appeared on www.indianexpress.com on 21 Dec 09, is not meant to insist that Sri Lanka keeps playing Sanath for ever. There will be a time, maybe not far ahead, when Sanath has to hang his boots. Yet someone has to show Sangakkara and those others in his calibre that the public are no fools to be deceived by hypocritical and insincere comments like the following .

“Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara admitted on Sunday that dropping out-of-form Sanath Jayasuriya was a tough call but added that he had to take the decision keeping the right combination in mind.

“Sometimes you’ve got to accept it whether it’s fair or unfair,” Sangakkara said, ahead of the third one-dayer. “As a captain, whether it’s a senior player or a new player (you are dropping), it doesn’t matter. It’s the team combination that matters. The captain can be direct, or can be subtle. At the end of the day, how you take it shows your character.”

This is nothing but empty garbage if he can’t prove the point. The point should be that, irrespective of the past achievements, it is fair to select the team on merits they have gained on this tour.

Sanath was called in to play in the two Twenty20 games and five ODIs. He played three games before he was dropped. He scored 26 in 20 deliveries in the first Twenty20 followed by taking 2 wickets for 19 runs. His victims were Dhoni (in-form skipper) out for 9 and YK Pathan (the hard hitter) out for 0. His two wickets for 19 turned the game and SL won it. At the second Twenty20 Sanath scored 31 in 21 deliveries. The person who turned the first game in Sri Lanka’s favour with the ball was not given the ball at all. Adding insult to injury, he was sent far down the batting order in the first ODI. Needless to say he failed in that match and indeed his failure can certainly be attributed to the mental torture emanated from being aware of the plot that Sangakkara was hatching and the unfair treatment that Jayasuriya received. Who would dismiss the idea that Sanath’s failure at the third game was constructed?

A simple comparison of Sanath and Mahela, another stalwart of SL cricket, further disgraces Sanga’s comment. Mahela scored 9, 12, and 3 respectively in the three games averaging 8 whereas Sanath averaged 20.67 even after being disadvantaged by the captain’s decision to send him down the order. Why was Mahela not treated in the same manner? Indeed, Mahela was brought into the comparison not with the intension of devaluing his contribution to Sri Lanka cricket, but there is no other current player worth comparing with Sanath.

The media recently reported that Sanath rejected a request by Namal Rajapaksha to take part in Mahinda Rajapaksha’s election campaign and Sanath was subsequently threatened by Namal of his cricketing career. If this item of news is true, I wonder whether Sangakkara has got a word in his ear by the infamous family. Sangakkara’s comments have inescapable characteristics of a disgraceful politician other than a quality sportsman. If he is responding to political pressure and bringing the game into disrepute, I would like to remind him of Marvan Atapattu, who had no hesitation to call a Muppet a Muppet.

“It’s always a tough decision when it comes to dropping guys like Sanath who is a legend. But then one has to think about the country and look forward. It’s the right combination that matters, and that is most important.”

This comment cannot be defined in any other way other than buttering. Sanath is a legend, and there are no two ways about it. His incomparable achievements are in black and white and the world of cricket acknowledges that it was the Sanath and Kalu combination that changed the one-day game altogether. He became a legend not only with the bat and ball but also with his gentlemanly manners and dignified character. Sangakkara has a long way to go to become a legend. It will be an uphill task if he believes that he can achieve that by masquerading.
krishan said...

I agree. sana is a great cricketer. See what happened to Mahanama, Gurusinghe Vaas and so on. sna ais not exception. Sana i sway better than any other player in the team. I have a strong feeling that Sana will not giveup and keep fighting as he is a boy from down south with true blood not water

jay a Sri sana. All our support with you

Prince said...

Sanath has served Srilanka to the best of his ability.He has done wonders for the game.However he has almost come to the end of his career.His recent performances do not even merit him to be in the squad in the first place.You are selected on present performance and not on past.take a lesson from Australia.Brett Lee was not picked for the Ashes because the selectors had doubts that He could last 5 days of competitive cricket.There comes a time when all greats have to leave the game.If you are not in a position to give out the best to the country you should not continue while depriving that opportunity to a young player.Sanath was picked to the squad on the basis that he would bat in the middle order.I think He batted at no 5 so your claim that He was sent way down the order is incorrect.we have to build up our team for the world cup.What is better persisting with someone who has very little cricket left in him or try out young players who will be the future?.in general Srilankan cricketers take a back seat when it comes to retirement.waugh brothers,Gilchrist retired when they were in their prime form.

Dilan said...

at last someone to back sanath.I totally agree with the editor,if there was someone to drop it should have been Mahela,it was because of him we lost the first odi chasing 414.That needless runout paved the way for our collapse.I mean when was the last he scored a 50.

Dilan said...

dilan.the.great

Unknown said...

I think you lost the plot here. The key discussion should not be about Sangakkara (who I agree has a long way to go to become a true leader) but the future of Sanath. Jayasuriya has contributed much to Sri Lanka cricket but it is a sad spectacle to see him hanging around way past his expiry date. It is not this series that matters but whether we have the right combination to excel in the World Cup in 2011. Sana will be 42 then, and if the decline in his reflexes continue will find it hard to make a place. Let us use this opportunity to unearth and groom a few more Mathews. By focusing too much on Sangakkara, you have lost sight of the more important goal in 2011.

Unknown said...

I wholly agree with the writer.I cannot understand why there is no public outcry against this political persecution of one of the great national heroes.He is definitely not a cardboard one.

Unknown said...

You put into words what was exactly running in my mind for the last couple of days. Sanath Jayasuriya, the name in itself is a symbol of victory, and he, in comparison, not an iota less than anybody in the current team. Of course, lately, he could not mesmerize the crowed amassing huge totals but then, this is what happens when you intimidate someone to "win one match out of every three" or to go obsolete! I don’t know much about the rest of the people involved in the team selection however I have a lot of respect and hope on Sangakkara and expect him to put politics and everything else on the back of professionalism.

My simple request and hope is that, no matter how old the man is or how long he have been in the team, let Sanath's cricket career takes its natural course, don’t temper it. Doing so will only add shame to the Sri Lanka cricket and take us to an era of dirty politics and division making us the fans to turn off our TV sets and go about our daily life as we do when our politicians talk.

Unknown said...

sanath undoubtedly the cricker par gentlmen of sri lanka cricket these muppets and puppets at the helm of sri lanka cricket should be hanged at the gall face green for turning this great sport to politicization now i would like to ask all these so called patriotics who cry foul for everything is this not a "pawadeema" putting your politacal gains before the country after all sanath is playing for countrys sake where is the so called patriotics like wimal weerawansa and co these people they only worry about there gains not the countries gain the simple motto " MAMA PERA RATA PASUWA" god bless sri lanka

Unknown said...

Some seem to be still hung in the past. Yes, there were those glory days of Sri Lanka cricket when we had nothing to loose and take all risks in playing the strokes. We have come a long way since. Sanath have become a burden to Sri Lanka cricket because of his fan base. Sanath have been no better trying to play cricket for ever for Sri Lanka using this fan base. At 40 glorified years, and making tons of money this man should have better life than playing cricket away from his family so often. This is also a lesson for others in many spheres who try to hang on to their shoes well past their retirement years. We should give the youngsters a chance to grow and be productive citizens perhaps at the guidance of those older players.