(MENAFN- Colombo Gazette)
By Easwaran Rutnam
Former Sports Minister Harin Fernando said that he was baffled after former cricketers Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene decided to support current Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa.
In an interview with Daily Mirror 'ON FIRE', Fernando said that both Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene refused to get involved when he was Sports Minister.
However, both Sangakkara and Jayawardene are now involved in efforts to improve cricket and other sports in Sri Lanka.
'I'm perplexed, to be honest, I asked them. I was very determined at that point. I met them at my residence. I met them in my own house. They didn't want to get involved in anything in Sri Lanka at that point. Maybe probably they knew that the government was not very solid at that point and didn't want controversy,' he said.
He said the two cricketing legends had also asked him if he will be able to deliver.
'They asked me how, because they worked with so many Ministers. They said they don't have faith in the system. But I was the only one who was able to get the value out of the whole equation at that point. But then when they backed down and they said their commitments are too far, I let them be,' he said.
However, Fernando said that he was happy for Sri Lanka cricket and hopes they do it out of passion and not because of pressure.
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