Former Sri Lanka captain and ex-Chairman of Selectors Sanath Jayasuriya, who once again came to the limelight by becoming the highest scorer for Sri Lanka in the Legends World Cup final recently, will be the chief guest at the 42nd Observer School Cricketers of the Year awards show at the BMICH, Colombo 7 on April 20 commencing at 5.30 p.m.
The award ceremony which was to be held last year had to be postponed due to the Corona-19 pandemic. While none of the similar awards ceremonies which started in recent times cancelled their awards shows citing Covid-19, the Sunday Observer and Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel continued with the show to fulfill their social responsibility.
The health authorities have given the green light to host the event, in keeping with strict heath guidelines. Jayasuriya, who was adjudged the Most Valuable Player of the tournament when Sri Lanka won the World Cup under Arjuna Ranatunga, won the Observer Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year Outstation in 1988. The former master blaster gave exciting memories of his yesteryear when he cracked a blistering 43 off 35 balls in the Legends World Cup final, which Sri Lanka lost by a mere 14 runs. Despite undergoing three operations including two knee surgeries and putting a stent for his heart ailment, Jayasuriya showed that he still has his old magical touch. It is with this most recent form that Jayasuriya will grace the Observer Mobitel School Cricketers of the Year. Sri Lanka’s first and the only uninterrupted schools cricket awards show had begun in 1979, at a time even the Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association had a formal tournament or an awards show. The Observer-Mobitel School Cricketers of the Year mega show is considered the Mother of all school cricket award shows in its 43rd year.