Tenacity in Life’s Journey: Marvan Atapattu’s Message to One & All-by Michael Roberts

Michael Roberts

I’m sharing this story because most people give up so easily. Its an amazing testament to Marvan’s tenacity and intelligence! An amazing story on Marvan Attapattu, Srilankan Cricketer.

It’s a story that needs to be told, over and over again. Making his debut in Test cricket for Sri Lanka, Marvan scored a duck in his first innings. And again, in his second innings.

UNITED KINGDOM – MAY 16: Cricket: 1st test 2002 England v Sri Lanka at Lord’s 1st day MARVAN ATAPATTU / SRI LANKAN OPENING BATSMAN MADE 185 IN FIRST INNINGS (Photo by David Munden/Popperfoto via Getty Images/Getty Images)

Sri Lankan batsman Marvan Atapattu hooks a boundary during his innings against the British Universities at the County Ground Northampton, on the opening day of their tour match (Photo by David Davies – PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images)

They dropped him. So he went back to the nets for more practice. More first-class cricket. More runs. Waiting for that elusive call.

And after twenty-one months, he got a second chance. This time, he tried harder. His scores: 0 in the first innings, 1 in the second Dropped again, he went back to the grind. And scored tonnes of runs in first-class cricket. Runs that seemed inadequate to erase the painful memories of the Test failures.

Well, seventeen months later, opportunity knocked yet again. Marvan got to bat in both innings of the Test. His scores: 0 and 0. Phew!

Back to the grind. Would the selectors ever give him another chance? They said he lacked big-match temperament. His technique wasn’t good enough at the highest level.

Sri Lanka coach Marvan Atapattu ……

LONDON, ENGLAND – MAY 30: Sri Lanka head coach Marvan Atapattu (R) checks out the pitch during a Nets Session at Lord’s Cricket Ground on May 30, 2014 in London, England. (Photo by Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images)

CHELMSFORD, ENGLAND – MAY 13: Marvan Atapattu, Interim Coach of Sri Lanka looks on during a Tour match between Essex and Sri Lanka at Ford County Ground on May 13, 2014 in Chelmsford, England. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)

Undaunted, Marvan kept trying. Three years later, he got another chance. This time, he made runs. He came good. And in an illustrious career thereafter, Marvan went on to score over 5000 runs for Sri Lanka. That included sixteen centuries and six double hundreds.

And he went on to captain his country. All this despite taking over six years to score his second run in Test cricket. Wow ! What a guy!

How many of us can handle failure as well as he did ? Six years of trying, and failing. He must have been tempted to pursue another career. Change his sport perhaps. Play county cricket. Or, oh well, just give up. But he didn’t. And that made the difference.

The next time you are staring at possible failure or rejection, think of Marvan.

And remember this: If you don’t give up, if you believe in yourself, if you stay the course, the run will eventually come. What’s more, you could even become a leader one day…..

…………..

Tenacity in Life. One more thing, Marvan Attapattu is a Qualified Chartered Accountant.

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Marvan’s Career Statistics

Career Batting Stats …. Right-Handed Batsman

Format	M	Inn	NO	Runs	HS	Avg	BF	SR	100s	50s	4s	6s

Test 1990–07	90	156	15	5502	249	39.0	12384	44.4	16	17	685	4

ODI 1990–07	268	259	32	8529	132*	37.6	12594	67.7	11	59	734	15

T20I 2006	2	1	0	5	5	5.0	8	62.5	0	0	0	0

Career Bowling Stats

Right-Arm Leg Spin Bowler

Format	M	Inn	B	Mdn	Runs	W	BB	Econ	Avg	SR	4W	5W

Test 1990–07	90	5	48	0	24	1	1/9	3.00	24.0	48.0	0	0

ODI 1990–07	268	2	51	0	41	0	0/4	4.82	–	–	0	0

T20I 2006	2	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–

Career Fielding Stats

Format	Catches	Run Outs	Stumpings

Test 1990–07	58	7	0

ODI 1990–07	70	31	0

eLanka

Tenacity in Life’s Journey: Marvan Atapattu’s Message to One & All-by Michael Roberts