Armyman, Tamil icon on field, war-torn Lanka plays cricket
From his hotel room in Colombo, Ajantha Mendis can see the cannons placed single-file by the sea in preparation for Sri Lanka’s 61st independence day celebrations. The artillery regiment to which the spinner belongs will participate in the parade in the capital on Wednesday.
As his brothers-in-arms rehearse their left-right-left steps to beating drums in the street below, the army gunner quietly goes through a meal of polroti, porridge and baked beans. The parade, to be held the day after his team’s do-or-die third game against the Indians, will be a show of strength for the army and Mendis’s regiment — some of whose units are currently pushing ahead in an intense final operation against the LTTE in the north.
If Mendis feels any emotion, it does not show. “My job is to play cricket right now, to bowl well,” he says simply.
To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.indianexpress.com
As his brothers-in-arms rehearse their left-right-left steps to beating drums in the street below, the army gunner quietly goes through a meal of polroti, porridge and baked beans. The parade, to be held the day after his team’s do-or-die third game against the Indians, will be a show of strength for the army and Mendis’s regiment — some of whose units are currently pushing ahead in an intense final operation against the LTTE in the north.
If Mendis feels any emotion, it does not show. “My job is to play cricket right now, to bowl well,” he says simply.
To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.indianexpress.com
Labels: Ajantha Mendis, Armyman, artillery regiment, beating drums, Cricket, Indians, parade, Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka’s 61st independence day celebrations
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11:14 AM
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