One time Sri Lanka cricket captain Dasun Shanaka seems to be enjoying a kind of immunity that many players before him may not have had the luxury of savouring and that includes being able to hold back the mainstream media from taking him head-on despite a litany and list of serial failures with the bat.
Among mainstream media personnel the cautionary rule is never take on a cricketer with political or Selection Committee clout for fear of having to eat their own words with the player able to benefit immensely from such patronage and come up with something that other players without patronage are not able to do.
For in the event a player basks in political or other untoward backing, the Pen stands no chance against the Bat that has the final say and thus Shanaka has been thriving on a kind of immunity that makes the mainstream media think twice before taking him on lock, stock and barrel.
Shanaka will undoubtedly be the first to rubbish being branded a batsman thriving on the benefits of political patronage. But what he will not be able to justify is the fact that he gets more chances in a lifetime to stick around than any other player not in the boots that he wears enjoying unfettered access to the crease.
The stark reality is that Shanaka, a good-heart soul away from cricket, is surviving as a professional who bats for a living in an arena of cut-throat activity, backstabbing and bickering.
His scores or contributions with the bat don’t make good reading for him or cricket followers and that is where the contention lies and all the country’s mainstream media are wary of taking on Shanaka just in case the unforeseen happens.
Shanaka is in a situation, or has the luxury of being in one, where he could stick around to slam a match-winning half century and then speak louder than the media for an emotional following whereas any other player sailing rough seas goes back to basics at domestic level hoping for a comeback that can never be guaranteed.
Shanaka’s recent contributions with the bat in white ball cricket, irrespective of the number of balls or situation faced make interesting reading. Beginning June 2023 he made scores of 17, 23, 1, 5, 0, 5, 1, 14 not out, 5, 24, 9, 2, 0, 68 and 12 that culminated with scores of 26 not out, 9, 7 and 8 at this month’s series against Zimbabwe.
For the next five months with another World Cup, the fifth inside five years, in the form of a T20 championship taking place, Shanaka could be enjoying a kind of favouritism that can only be the envy of many a batter before him or on the current scene.
Sport, like everything else in the country has turned upside down and made to look like stinking garbage, the unkindest cut of all. Shanaka has pushed the mainstream media that seeks no favours into a wait-and-see situation. Both parties cannot win at the same time. One has to win and the other has to lose.
