India in Sri Lanka 2008

Tillakaratne replaced as team manager

Sa'adi Thawfeeq

July 23, 2008

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has appointed Charith Senanayake as the manager of the national team following an intervention by Gamini Lokuge, the country's sports minister. Hashan Tillakaratne, the former Sri Lankan batsman, was originally appointed to the post but Lokuge objected to that as SLC didn't get his permission on the appointment.

The week-long dispute was eventually resolved in the eleventh hour, following a lengthy interim committee meeting on the eve of the first Test between Sri Lanka and India at the SSC in Colombo.

Senanayake, 45, played three Tests against New Zealand on the 1991 tour, and seven ODIs in total, with moderate success. Now based in Kenya, he was in Sri Lanka on a holiday when he was offered the job.

The post became vacant when SLC decided to replace Air Vice Marshall Shriyan Samararatne, who had held the post since April 2007. Tillakaratne is currently the president of the Association of Cricket Umpires and Scorers of Sri Lanka.

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