SLC nominates five names for National Selection Committee-by Indika Welagedara

Sri Lanka Cricket has named five nominees for the National Cricket Selection Committee. The five names sent by the SLC to the National Sports Selection Committee and National Sports Council are Pramodya Wickramasinghe (Chairman), Hemantha Wickramaratne, Kapila Wijegunawardena, Romesh Kaluwitharana, and Varuna Waragoda, Daily News reliably learns.

Pramodya was a member of the World Cup winning Sri Lankan team of 1996 led by skipper Arjuna Ranatunga, which beat Austrailia in the final by seven wickets at Lahore, Pakistan. Pramodya – an old boy of Rahula College Matara, first came to the limelight playing for the Sri Lanka national team against Pakistan in 1991 while playing club cricket for Matara SC. He later moved to SSC for better prospects.

Left hander Hemantha Wickramaratne who played for Ananda College in 1989 and 1990 later turned out for SSC and also had represented the country in one dayers against South Africa and earlier served as a National selector.

Former Thomian skipper cum fast bowler Kapila Wijegunaeardena has served as a chairman of the national selection committee in 2016. He played club cricket for CCC and also played for the Sri Lanka National team as a fast bowler.

The other nominees are former Sri Lanka National wicket keeper and opening batsman cum St.Sebastian’s College Moratuwa cricketer Romesh Kaluwitharana, who played a vital role in Sri Lanka’s World Cup triumph. The other nominee is a former D.S.Senanayake college cricket captain and CCC top order batsman Varuna Waragoda.

The names will be considered by the National Sports Selection Committee and National Sports Council and they will select three including Wickramasinghe as chairman out of the above five names, and will send to Sports Ministry for approval for the new three-member cricket selection panel.

Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva, Chief of Defence Staff and Commander of the Army heads the National Sports Selection Committee which was appointed in October last year. The other members of the National Sports Selection Committee consists of Suresh Subramaniam (President – Sri Lanka Olympic Committee), Hafeez Marso ( Rtd.DIG of Police), Maxwell de Silva (Secretary General – Sri Lanka Olympic Committee) and Arjun Fernando.

The new selection committee will have the daunting task of restoring Sri Lanka’s cricketing image as a leading Test playing nation against West Indies, after the humiliating back to back cricket series losses to South Africa and England.