Dilrook Kannangara

Sri Lanka concludes another cricket tournament that won’t be missed. As usual fans are angry and want wholesale changes from players to coaches, selectors to the administration. However, none of that can fix Sri Lanka cricket because the problem is far deeper than that. Things have changed from the era of 1970s to 1990s.

Blaming the conduct of players and others is misplaced. Best players in the world are not ranked by their conduct outside the field. Commercialization though is partly to be blamed, has affected all countries and Sri Lanka is not alone.

When cricket was riding high in the 1980s and 1990s there were a number of additional challenges including political considerations, absurd considerations in cricket clubs when choosing players, ethnic tensions and war that shut out a large section of the potential talent pool. Technology was far behind than now. After the South Africa tour in 1982 Sri Lanka lost the largest number of players in its history in a moment. But there was sufficient available talent to overcome those obstacles.

Economic Reasons

In the 1970s to 1990s economically capable families encouraged their sport-savvy children to play cricket. Not anymore. Since the 1990s they encourage their children to take up rugby, swimming and other sports. This has collapsed the depth of talent Sri Lanka has in the cricketing space. Unlike in the past, a significant percentage of students today study at international schools. Cricket is not the most popular extra-curricular activity or the fancy sport there. In fact, cricket takes a back seat. Private local schools and top government schools in cities have also changed. Rugby and other sports have taken over the limelight from cricket.

Club and mercantile matches do not attract the crowds they used to attract. As a result, sponsorships and patronage by businesses have dropped. In contrast, other sports get far more enthusiasm especially from well-to-do crowds.

Another reason is the economic collapse of Sri Lanka relative to other countries since 2010 which has driven students generally away from sport and seriously affected nutrition. Since 2012 Sri Lanka is ranked the second worst nation in malnutrition rate among under-fives in Asia. This is taking a toll on productivity, strength and development. Weakened sports persons cannot compete against well-nourished competitors. India has come a long way in improving overall nutrition of its population thanks to rapid development.

A comparison of total weight of the Sri Lankan team and teams from other countries, and, even between Sri Lankan team of the golden era and today will be telling evidence of the impact of nutrition in this cohort of sportsmen.

Social Reasons

An increasing number of people are aware of skin damage and the potential for skin cancer due to long exposure to sunlight. It has a social element in a society where fairer skin colour is preferred, and also a health element. Indoor facilities are inadequate and climatic conditions don’t help either.

Coupled with economic and social preferences that tend to impact youngsters more than others, the attractiveness of cricket and cricketers has drastically reduced over the years. The number of capable players who could be pooled to draw out from has reduced. SLC has to make do with available talent from a smaller cricketing talent pool. Meanwhile the economic and social attractiveness of rugby, swimming, squash, soccer, etc. has grown.

Conclusion

Considering broader structural changes in the society and the economy, cricket fans should lower their expectations. Exceptions are possible but infrequent. There comes a time when everything falls into place. But these are exceptions. Those good times cannot be sustained. The best of times of Sri Lanka cricket seems to be behind us. It is nobody’s fault. It’s what the society in general wants. The society can change its preferences and that will change the fortunes of the game, but it takes time.