Krishantha Prasad Cooray
The ICC Hall of Fame is made up of the best of the best who have graced the gentlemen’s game, cricket. Since 2009, the International Cricket Council has picked the absolute legends of the game and inducted them into the Hall of Fame with a commemorative golden striped Hall of Fame cap. So far 109 such caps have been presented, 82 of which went to cricketers who represented England, Australia, and the West Indies. Only three Sri Lankans are among them, the king of spin Muttiah Muralitharan (2016), and the men who gave new meaning to the cricketing term ‘partnership,’ Mahela Jayawardena and Kumar Sangakkara (2021).
It is indeed an honor to Sri Lanka that the incomparable all-rounder/skipper Aravinda De Silva will be bestowed this honor in the next few days. At a time when, the cricket fans of Sri Lanka, have every reason to despair, legends such as Aravinda De Silva remind us of the glory days of Sri Lanka Cricket and reaffirm our staunch belief that their feats can and will be replicated one day. A sensational batsman who we will witness once in a century.
I wish to extend my warmest wishes to the classy batsman, dear friend and one-time flatmate. The timing could not have been better to remind us of what we are made of and what we can become. The 6381 test runs and 9284 ODI runs scored off Aravinda’s bat and the 135 wickets taken will always remind us of the reason that Ara deserved the golden-striped hall of Farmer cap. You deserve it, mate!
