Bipin Dani
Sri Lanka’s chief selector Pramodya Wickramasinghe denied the media reports which state that former captain Mahela Jayawardene, now on duty for the IPL in India, telephoned to him and tried to influence the inclusion of left-arm spinner Prabadh Jayasuriya in the national squad.
Speaking exclusively over the telephone from Colombo on Saturday, Pramodya Wickramasinghe said, “it is all rubbish.
None of us in the selection committee had ever received a call from Mahela. This I confirm after checking with my fellow selectors”.
“I guess few people are trying to spoil our image”. Incidentally, Mahela Jayawardene too did not endorse the new report, though he refused to comment at length.
“I don’t respond to gossip.
You speak to the chairman of selectors”, he said. Interestingly, not only Prabath Jayasuriya but eight others also gave fitness tests prior to the selection committee meeting, it is also learnt here.
Three players Avishka Fernando, Mohamed Shiraz and Prabath Jayasuriya failed the fitness tests and Praveen Jayawickrama was selected ahead of four others-Charith Asalanka, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Binura Fernando and Nishan Madhush, who all passed the fitness tests.
