This was chaos in the making

Sri Lankan cricketers Niroshan Dickwella, Kusal Mendis and Danushka Gunathilake were slapped a one-year ban from taking part in active cricket for violating the bio bubble restriction during their disastrous tour of England in 2019

Cricket lovers across Sri Lanka and outside pointed to the video as an example of the reasons for an overhaul of the team and the team dynamics. Ex-national players including members from the 1996 World Cup Champion team were on national TV detailing how that fabled team was built and brought to gladiator level

If you are a cricket fan, you remember that video. Even if you are not, you should. 
The 29-second grainy video of two men at a city square, searching for or waiting for someone. Nothing wrong with that. Except the two men were two Sri Lankan national cricket players, on tour in England and in the middle of Durham in Northeast England in the middle of the night. We would find out later that a third player was also involved and all three were in breach of bio-bubble restrictions. 

The video did more to slow down the train wreck that was the national cricket team then and also create some changes in the national cricket setup. The three players Kusal Mendis, Niroshan Dickwella and Danushka Gunathilaka copped a one-year ban for the breach. But it was later lifted less than six months into it following requests by the penalised players. 

Now that Gunathilaka is embroiled in a much worse controversy, this video looks innocuous and foreboding at the same time. It is a tale of lessons not learnt. All those TV talk shows that followed the video, all that punditry have come to nothing.  That is what the actions of one man still indicates.
Since the video went viral, I had wanted to talk to Nazeer Nisthar, the man who originally posted it. I have been curious to find out why he shot the video. It turns out, the reason is bit simpler than many of the conspiracy theorists would have. 

Nazeer Nisthar felt Sri Lanka had squandered a chance to make it into the knockouts of the World Cup. He was angrier at how the national team was performing in England during the ongoing tour. The team had arrived in Durham after being pummelled in the T20s

Nisthar is a diehard cricket fan and he became an angry cricket fan when he was driving through Durham City Centre that night. He was angry because in 2019, he felt Sri Lanka had squandered a chance to make it into the knockouts of the World Cup. He was angrier at how the national team was performing in England during the ongoing tour. The team had arrived in Durham after being pummelled in the T20s. 

Then he came across the two men, very familiar to him and he did what most of us would do these days when we see national players in public, we video for socials. “The only thing that I really wanted to do was to put the shutter down and scream, but I did not,” Nisthar told me this week. He posted the video and within 24 hours, it recorded 350,000 views and 31,000 shares. 

Cricket lovers across Sri Lanka and outside pointed to the video as an example of the reasons for an overhaul of the team and the team dynamics. Ex-national players including members from the 1996 World Cup Champion team were on national TV detailing how that fabled team was built and brought to gladiator level. 
Nisthar also had his fair share of those who accused of him being a traitor, a rat and worse. Those from the media clamoured to get their hands on the video. A few, surviving riding the tailwinds of national players, were angry that he posted the video and spoke of hatchet-jobs at the behest of a senior player not in the touring party. Nisthar says the video came about because he was just there. Others really did not like their pay masters put on socials without the intervention of PR handlers and managers. 

Now that Danushka Gunathilaka is embroiled in a much worse controversy, this video looks innocuous and foreboding at the same time. It is a tale of lessons not learnt. All those TV talk shows that followed the video, all that punditry have come to nothing.  That is what the actions of one man still indicates

Those 29 seconds should have changed the dynamics of the national team, they possibly have, but is that enough? 
Obviously, there is a whole lot of room for awareness on professional conduct and a bit more on social media usage other than to post images wearing designer getups and inside fancy coffee shops. 

Maybe, what is needed is a bit more sceptical scrutiny from the coterie of journalists, who seem to be nothing more than brand ambassadors for the very players they ‘report’ on. 
Maybe, they need to get back to sports journalism and take a few steps back from singing paeans and unabashedly hunting for more clicks. Then again, this is a tall ask? Let’s not wish for change, just go back to Nisthar’s 29-second video and let’s bang our heads in unison. 

The writer is a journalism researcher. He can be reached at [email protected]