Allegations of a “mafia” involving player-managers has been widely reported as a primary cause of the decline in Sri Lanka Cricket in recent times. Pity personal agendas, lucrative player-management deals, and corruption are being prioritized over the team’s performance, leading to poor results, player selection issues, and intense fan frustration. And now, it has hijacked the system to that extreme level, that is it is courageous enough to plot regime change attempts at Maitland place!
The first appointment of a manager to manage the financial and other affairs of players officially began with Charlie Austin, a British national. Before him there were many who performed those tasks unofficially , but those were not carried out in a professional manner. It is Austin who was the first to pave the way for agreements between the player and the manager subject to a limited period. Austin came to SL during the first half of the year 2000.
This Austin first arrived in Sri Lanka not as a journalist, but in search of a job. At that time, a senior cricket umpire taking pity on him gave him a room as a lodger in his house. Austin thereby found his way into the media circles, which led to his close association with many cricketers.
Back to present, the cricket manager mafia initiated by Charlie has now ramified! Now, the current ringmaster of this ‘players-manager mafia circus’ is Asanga Wijewardena. Living in England and a close friend of former Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews, Asanga is currently managing at least half a dozen national contracted players including Matheesha Pathirana, Kusal Mendis, Pathum Nissanka!
Asanga, who doesn’t even have a permanent job in England, spends all his time with the Sri Lanka team when it visits England. Sometimes he travels in the official bus of the cricket team and has direct access to the dressing room even! He also joins in with the players at dinners and parties at night. Taking full advantage of friendship with Mathews (who was Sri Lanka’s captain for a long time) Asanga has now built an empire! Reportedly, he signs a five year contract with these players through intimidation and includes a clause in the contract that they should pay a commission of 10 % to him on all their earnings. Asanga not only enjoys cult status among current and former players, but has also established good connections with politicians, ministers as well. One of his such close connection is with Chaminda Jayasuriya, who is placed at defense in president’s office!
However, Asanga, and few other small time managers’ dominance took a hit by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) newest initiative. Triggered by poor T20 World Cup performance and high injury rates, SLC has implemented strict, mandatory fitness tests, making them essential for national selection and obtaining No Objection Certificates (NOCs) for foreign leagues like the IPL 2026. This policy includes an eight-week training program and restricts players who fail to meet strict physical standards and it obviously ends chances of player-managers like Asanga’s unprecedented, undue influence over team selection.
That’s why, to safeguard their interests, the collective efforts of Asanga and a few other small-time managers are conspiring against the Maitland Place, by circulating countless social media lies through their proxies to unstable the cricket in the Island!
These factors will also result in a decline in the team’s performance, with players being selected based on affiliation rather than merit, leading to consistent losses in international cricket.
Player-managing is one thing. But influencing national selection is tantamount to toying with national interests for selfish gains in totally unacceptable. No other cricketing nation tolerates such a shallow, damaging act.
If any such move succeeds in Sri Lanka, then the next generation of cricketers will be treated as commodities rather than team assets!
With Inputs From: Lankaenews
