The days our Cricketers were not Cocksuckers..

Today is a very special day for all Sri Lankan cricket fans. It marks 16 years since our Sri Lankan Lions won the cricket world cup in 1996 beating the Aussies at the Gaddaffi stadium in Lahore. Nobody except us believed our team can go all the way and our team responded the same by playing some magnificent cricket. We beat all odds and won the only cricket world cup we have won so far.It was truly an amazing win.

The team we had in that era was truly magnificent. Lead by Arjuna "Captain Cool" Ranatunga, the team had some amazing superstars.The Master Blaster Sanath and his partner in crime Kalu, the middle order that had Gura, Aravinda , Arjuna , Mahanama and Hashan that oozed class and confidence, the all round abilities of Dharmasena and Vass with the spin wizard Murali weaving his magic; It was a team that played like warriors and always gave more than hundred percent for their country. That was why we were unbeatable , that was why we won the most prized sporting accolade our country has ever won to date.

Just like the win in 1996 bought glory and showed the power of our country as a cricketing nation,  it also saw the commercialization of the sport in a variety of ways .Cricket was no longer a game that was played for fun , it became a profession. It was not limited not only to the capital and was expanded to suburbs we have never heard of which unearthed some wonderful talents. It became the only thing that bought our country together, specially during the days when the civil war was making all the headlines. It was not simply a sport anymore; it became a way of life.

While cricket being a profession is totally all right, it did bought a bad side where cricketers started to play for money. The introduction of T20 cricket , the IPL made cricketers go after money and think twice what they are going to do when they get on to the field. This is evident specially in our current Sri Lankan cricket team where some players seem to forget that playing for their country is important rather than playing for their franchise or playing simply for money. True they were not paid, but is it an excuse not to play well for your country? What if the players in the 1996 era had such a frame of mind ? we would have never won a World Cup and could have been always considered as minnows with the ranks of  Zimbabwe , Kenya or even Bangladesh.

Thank god the team in 1996 was not a bunch of cocksuckers like some of the players we have in our national team now. They were truly awesome and deserved to win it all which they did in the end. I still remember that night when Arjuna hit McGrath for 4 to win the cup for us and how I ran all across our lane shouting and celebrating. It will be a moment that won't be forgotten by any Sri Lankan who witnessed it and I sincerely hope we can repeat such a performance in the future. Till then, it will be always 1996. The year Sri Lankan Cricket came to life.

Cheers !!