Mahela ‘eligible’ for selection committee meetings

Mahela Jayawardene

By BIPIN DANI

Former Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene, who has been recently appointed as a consultant, is ‘eligible’ to attend the selection committee meetings on the World Cup tour, according to Aravinda de Silva, Chief of the Technical Advisory Committee. 

Speaking exclusively over the telephone from Colombo, he said, “The World Cup squad has already been selected by the selectors and he can’t do anything but, yes, Mahela will be involved in selecting the final eleven. Mahela is officially a part of the squad now and his knowledge and expertise will be utilized in setting out match strategies and he can attend the selection committee meetings on tour.” 

Though Mahela may not have the right to vote, his preference will certainly be considered.

It may be recalled here that Tom Moody, the Cricket Director, was a consultant on the last England tour. 
The other two members of the SLC’s technical advisory committee, Muttiah Muralitharan and Kumar Sangakkara, are already in the UAE (for the IPL assignments). However, they may not be there throughout the duration of the World Cup. Sangakkara might return to his family in the UK, whereas Muralitharan may return to Colombo with his family once Sunrisers Hyderabad, which he coaches, finish off their matches.  

“Mahela’s appointment is only for a specific period (October 16-23). It was made clear to us that Mahela wants to spend some time with his family after the IPL and fulfil his prior commitment with the U-19 team and therefore he was not pressured to be with the national team for a longer period,” de Silva further added.