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Samath on Sunday

Capt. Hashan: good or bad?

HASHAN Tillekeratne's appointment as captain completes an extraordinary comeback story: exiled in 1999, reinstated in 2001 and elevated as leader a week ago. History will stamp him as Sri Lanka's eighth appointed Test captain.

The promotion took many, reportedly the new captain himself, by surprise. Tillekeratne, after all, had never been mentioned as heir apparent to Jayasuriya. His appointment, so, is not going to be universally popular, but then no new appointee is. A shockingly unexpected choice he might be, but commendable all the same, resurrecting from the grave his international career and then ending as captain. It says a lot for the depth and strength of his resolve, a virtue which one hopes will rub off on a team notorious for easy capitulation at critical moments.

Of course, whether his promotion would've been possible without apparent help from his former D S Senanayake MV and NCC teammate, selector Aravinda de Silva, can be debated till the cows come home to no avail. The old boy network theory will inevitably be overworked. But you can't discount either that de Silva's enormous experience too went into his judgement. It is fair to assume that after 19 years of international cricket, de Silva would view things from an elevation above parochialism. Be that as it may, few will disagree that the selectors have shown quite some extraordinary faith in Tillekeratne.  It will be up to him to justify that faith in more ways than one.

The first reaction of many to his appointment is to recall instantly his infamous verbal abuse of and physical threats to former chairman selectors, Sidath Wettimuny, in 2001. With that sort of personal history, it is excusable to question the wisdom of placing the reins of national captaincy in his hands. Lesser breaches of proper conduct are known to have earned transgressors a place on the permanent blacklist. His detractors will go so far as saying, his appointment tantamount to a desecration of the title of Sri Lanka cricket captain. But then others will argue that when violence-ridden Board AGMs are pushed among the forgotten things, Tillekeratne's offence is a misdeed undeserving of punishment. 

To be fair though, Tillekeratne, after his recall, has scrupulously steered clear of trouble. He might well have mended his ways and the captaincy could well bring out the best in him. It is possible the selectors might have extracted a pledge of exemplary conduct from him. Personally, it gives him a chance to remove from public minds the lingering memories of his infamy and be remembered as the discard who came off the floor and climbed the peak.

Surprise selection

The legacy he inherits, however, could've been better. His surprise selection over the more popular candidates is not likely to present him with the happiest assembly of players. Marvan Atapattu's disenchantment is to be expected, as would from a victim of a broken promise _ well okay, not quite a promise.  But after nearly three seasons as deputy, a recommendation from the previous skipper and his proven worth as a player, Atapattu looked to be the captain in waiting. But the promise went unrequited and clearly public sympathy will be on his side. He is not the only one to feel displeased. Jayasuriya too has to be miffed that the choice of his successor was disregarded. There were candidates for vice captaincy too: Vaas and Muralideran from the experienced ranks and Jayewardene and Sangakkara, if selectors were inclined to think long term. None of their names even got a mention in the post-selection press conference.

All these personal disappointments won't quite make them the merry men of sunny Sri Lanka. The new captain's skills at man management so will surely be tested to the hilt as he must shore up the spirits of the disappointed in his ranks, men who make up the backbone of the team. This is not to say that there will be deliberate under-performing, but a united team in a happy state of mind can do quite some wondrous deeds, as did Ranatunga's merry men of '96 and Jayasuirya's team at other times. All we know of Tillekeratne is his obdurate batting, a quality that is useful given a capricious middle order. Henceforth, that alone will not be enough. He will have to show the combined qualities of persuasiveness, sternness and whatever to earn the respect of his men. There will be times when it would be tempting to choose the harsher option: ''do as I say or...". It is the language of the battlefield, and cricket sometimes does become war (without guns). In such difficult situations it's easy to cross the thin line separating decorum and the devil. Tillkeratne will have to show that he can stay on the right side of the red line at all times by suppressing the old instincts that got him into trouble.

It won't take long before comparisons with his predecessor will be made. Jayasuriya's leadership through consensus brought success _ and troubles too. The style bred a sort of camaraderie that raised suspicions of favouritism, a suspicion that gained ground especially when out-of-form players were retained. But Jayasuriya somehow didn't allow his leadership to be questioned: he contributed like a captain should, with bat and ball _ to such an extent that it became an article of faith that the team wins only if he performs. Such dependence might not have done the team much good but his right to captaincy wasn't ever challenged. He was insulated by his own brilliance.

Less endowed

Tillekeratne is less endowed to lead from the front in the way Jayasuriya could. Batting is his only medium of expression, and at his usual no.5 slot he might not get the platform should Jayasuriya, Atapattu, Sangakkara and Jayewardene do the job. That hasn't happened as often as it should, which is why Tillkeratne won a recall. Salvaging his team from a crisis though is a better way of establishing his leadership. But he can't bowl, which leaves his qualities of leadership, including tactical intelligence and player-relationship, as the only other way to make his success.

 Yet he could not have asked for a more hopeful start _ against New Zealand on home turf, not Australia or South Africa. There's nothing like launching a captaincy career with a series win, just as Jayasuriya did in 1999. In his first outing as skipper he won the series against Steve Waugh's Australians, 1/0, and went on to become the country's most successful captain in both versions of the game.

If Tillkeratne makes the same sort of start Jayasuriya did, the question arises as to how long a waiting game will Atapattu have to play out. Selector de Silva, after all, has publicly declared that Tillekeratne's job is as good as temporary and promised that after Atapattu has comfortably settled in as one-day captain he will be handed leadership of the Test team too. de Silva makes out that he is being rather caring of Atapattu, but whether the disappointed opener sees it that way is another matter. This much is certain: a longer period of gestation for Atapattu will make for stronger political undercurrents within the team.

The decision to ease, rather than rush, Atapattu as captain of both teams has some value, especially in these times when international cricket is yearlong hard labour. But not all countries think the two jobs are too much for one man. Australia and England have two captains, but for other reasons. Hussein didn't want the one-day job because he wouldn't be around for the 2007 World Cup. Ponting's appointment as one-day leader has been officially described as the making of way for his Test captaincy, which is what the selectors' plan is for Atapattu.  The rest of the countries obviously think having one and the same for both forms helps make a better captain. Ranatunga and Jayasuriya did pretty well as captain of both teams.

The easing of Atapattu into the role of dual leader is arguable. It is true that the experience gathered as one-day captain would leave him a wiser leader when inducted as Test captain one day in the future. But equally true is, if given both jobs at once he would've matured s leader in the time spent waiting for the second appointment.

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