Abayakoon and company should be taken with a pinch of salt

Jatila Karawita

The decision taken by Rohan Abayakoon led five-member selection committee for rugby to rejoin last week, according to the Minister of Sports and Public Recreation Gamini Lokuge, after having famously summoned a press briefing on November 1 at the CH and FC to resign, was nothing but a slap on the face of rugby reporters of this country.

Rohan Abayakoon and his five co-selectors (Hafeel Marso, Rohantha Peiris, Chaminda Rupasinghe and Nazeem Mohammed) took umbrage at the decision of Minister Lokuge, to axe Kandy SC number eight Imran Bisthamin from the 24-member Sri Lanka squad to the inaugural Asian Five Nation Division I in Chinese Taipei from November 12-15.

They stated in one voice at the news conference that they had vehemently opposed the omission of Bisthamin, in favour of Police SC flanker Nilusha Fernando and they did not want to be involved with a team which firmly believed was not the best the country could field in the said tournament to be played on a knock-out basis.

Alas, now comes the news that the five-member selection panel have suddenly done a volte-face and have consented to return to their posts after giving a hearing to the Minister and mind you despite the Minister not being keen to reinstate Imran Bisthamin in the tour squad.

Now, the moot point here is did the Rohan Abayakoon headed panel think the seasoned rugby correspondents as they called us at the press briefing a bunch of fools or jokers who could be taken for a ride as it were.

It is clear as crystal that the selectors despite their lofty standing in the sport since ending their respective rugby careers were acting on a hidden agenda, and they decided to deceive the rugby writers by announcing that they were quitting in earnest, to voice their displeasure at the Minister’s move to discard Imran Bisthamin.

It is not only very disappointing but humiliating for members of the Fourth Estate to fall prey to the shameless and disgraceful trickery of Rohan Abayakoon led rugby selectors, and it will remain a mystery as to what prompted them to return as selectors after having resigned in a blaze of glory sort of way, what with their press conference being covered also by the electronic media as well.

With these latest antics of Rohan Abayakoon and his co-selectors what we would like to ask from them is how they intent to build a working relationship with the print media.

This was nothing but skulduggery of the highest order. It is of paramount importance that all sports officials needs to understand that sans the media no sport can ever hope to develop or aspire for greatness.

Hence, it goes without saying that the role played by the media a is second to none. But, only time will tell whether Abayakoon and his panel of selectors are able to regain the confidence of the rugby media to forge a lasting and vibrant working relationship for the greater good of rugby, in light of their decision to hoodwink not only the journalists but the rugby-loving public at large as well.

Henceforth, everything related to rugby that is uttered by the selectors will have to be taken with a pinch of salt given their about-turn last week.