Sri Lanka’s Justice Prasanna Jayawardena passed away in Colombo on Tuesday at the age of 62. Former World Cup winning iconic captain Arjuna Ranatunga, former opening batsman Sidath Wettimuny and former Sri Lanka Cricket Board (SLC) interim committee Vice president Kushil Gunasekera paid their respects.
A fearless, impartial judge of great intellect and open mind, whose passing away is an irreplaceable loss to the legal and judicial system of Sri Lanka, Prasanna contributed immensely for the betterment of the Sri Cricket as well.
For Arjuna, he fought his defamation case against former SLC president Thilanga Sumathipala.
“He always stood against injustice and corrupted people. He was passionate about cricket and was always willing to help in any way to keep our beloved game free of corruption. It’s a huge loss for the entire country” Arjuna, who changed ODI cricket forever with World Cup triumph in 1996, told Cricket Age.
Justice Prasanna Jayawardena’s, who gave up more lucrative legal practice to be a Supreme Court judge, most notable contribution came in 2015, when Sidath Wettimuny was the chairman of the interim committee at SLC.
“I am shocked to hear the sad news of his demise” Wettimuny, one of the most respected voice in Sri Lanka cricket, told Cricket Age.
Wettimuny further remembered how Prasanna Jayawardena drafted SLC constitution amendments that will help Sri Lanka Cricket in moving forward.
“During my tenure as interim committee chairman in 2015, he drafted the amendment of the board constitution. His inputs were that much relevant, that it will serve Sri Lanka Cricket immensely in coming years, if implemented properly” he added further.
Kushil Gunasekera, the closest associate of cricket greatest bowler Muttiah Muralitharan, also shared his thoughts on the demise of Prasanna Jayawardena.
“I have the previllege to closely work with him as vice president of SLC interim committee during that period in 2015. He was one of the most impartial, forthright and honest person. Most importantly, he was very much in love with the game of cricket and he will be dearly missed” Gunasekera, who has been uplifting the lives of thousands of underprivileged and rural people through his Foundation Of Goodness since one and half decade, told Cricket Age.
“The way he guided us with such clarity, forthrightness and in an upright manner, impartial in his decision making, with the best interest of the institution at heart, unwaveringly. He will be remembered for the landmark SLC constitutional amendment draft he constructed during his involvement with the last Interim Committee, under Sidath in 2015. What an irreplaceable loss as he did things differently” Kushil Gunasekera added further.
