A photograph in social media of spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan being given a hug by a cricket fan brought up nostalgic memories. This photograph is 18 years old and was taken in Jaffna by the brilliant Anurudha Lokuapuarachi, photojournalist of Reuters. But not many are aware of the story behind the photograph.
A ceasefire agreement between the Government and the LTTE almost two decades ago opened up the A9 road and business establishments based in the south were making use of the opportunity to launch their products and services in the north as well. Janashakthi, one of the leading insurance firms in the island, saw the opportunity and were looking to establish themselves in Jaffna. They had a brilliant marketing team headed by the ever-smiling Ramesh Schaffter who came up with a novel idea to create a buzz about the new venture by playing a cricket match in Jaffna.
There was something special about that cricket match. Jaffna was going to see cricket’s hottest sensation in town – Muttiah Muralitharan.
From the early days of his career, Janashakthi had taken Murali under their wings and a decade later when he had become an iconic figure in cricket, it was Janashakthi’s opportunity to cash in. Together with Murali, a few other Test cricketers like Romesh Kaluwitharana and Ruchira Perera featured in the game for the team from Colombo. They were taking on a combined team from Jaffna schools.
Now, Jaffna had been starved of cricket at that point although they had several cricket playing schools like St. Patrick’s, St. John’s, St. Henry’s, Hartley College and Jaffna Central College, who had engaged in the game. In the 1980s, there were some quality players as well with the most prominent of them being Rasaratnam Naguleswaran, who played for CCC, Maharaja’s and Sri Lanka Under-25 before migrating to New Zealand.
Murali – The real face of Sri Lankan Cricket
Janashakthi had hired a coach in which the players and their marketing team traveled. Together with a few media friends, we too decided to make the trip. One of our friends, Ashok Selladurai, a software expert who had worked for Cricinfo had a vehicle and he drove us to Jaffna. A few photographers like Anurudha from Reuters, Gemunu Amarasinghe from AP and Sena Vidanagamage from AFP came on their own.
Jaffna put up a grand show in welcoming Murali. He had to stop at every junction where he was garlanded, and people showered him with love and warmth. Despite being exhausted by the lengthy travel, Murali put up a fine show. This was the pre-selfie era but he signed autographs and chatted with fans who shook hands with him.
The game was the following day. Needless to say that it was a packed house. Security was pretty tight with Police and STF controlling the crowd. Despite that, two young fans ran onto the pitch and embraced Murali. Intruders on cricket pitch put players’ safety in danger. But Murali welcomed the youth with open arms. He was smiling. The youth had one of the best days of their lives. Following that, more young fans came onto the pitch to greet Murali and the Police had a hard job.
Wisden crowns Murali as the cricketer of the century
Anurudha is an outstanding photographer. He captured that moment in Jaffna. Over the years, he has taken some superb cricket images. One such is the mid-air collision between Jason Gillespie and Steve Waugh in Asgiriya in 1999. He didn’t stop there. He went to Kandy General Hospital the following day, obtained permission from the hospital and the players and took more images of the two Test cricketers on the mend. These images are still found on Google. Waugh was so fascinated by the photographs that during his next visit to Colombo in 2002, he approached Anurudha and purchased some of these images which were used in his autobiography – Never Satisfied.
As for Murali, returning from Jaffna, his coach stopped at an Army camp for lunch. The Commanding Officer of the camp asked Murali whether he could speak to the soldiers briefly. Murali agreed and chatted to them and during the conversation, a soldier appealed him to play a cricket match. The unscheduled cricket match too was agreed upon by the spin wizard.
Video – ලොව වැඩිම ටෙස්ට් හා එක්දින කඩුලු ලාභියා – මුත්තයියා මුරලිදරන්
Murali opened the batting in that game – a softball encounter between Army and those who had gone from Colombo. He did not bowl off-spin and instead opted for medium pace. There was a soldier who took Murali to task, hitting three sixes in an over. There was joy among fellow soldiers to see one of their own taking the world’s greatest bowler to the cleaners. Murali sensed the occasion. He did not bowl off-spin in the next over but kept bowling seam and the soldier kept hammering him. He was carted all around the park. But in cricket, wickets and runs do not matter always. Bringing smiles to those who engage in the sport and those who watch is sometimes more important. Murali understood those values. He gave the soldiers a fabulous time.
Murali is far more than just a brand ambassador. A realistic man, he is deeply aware of the difference he can make by bringing a smile to the faces of fellow Sri Lankans. It’s not by just playing a game of softball cricket with others but he has done far greater things to help the poor both in the north and south through his charity the Foundation of Goodness. The nation needs more heroes like Murali.
*Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of ThePapare.com.
