Kochi ∙ Full of love for Kerala, respect and gratitude for India! Sanath Jayasuriya, who was born on the southern coast of Emerald Island and rose to become the sun of world cricket, shared those experiences on the stage of ‘Manorama Sports Awards’. I have been to Kerala before. Kerala culture has a lot in common with the culture of Sri Lanka. That is why the Lankans love to visit Kerala; Keralites and Sri Lanka. For us, Kerala is like Lanka! Kerala’s greenery, beaches, warm people… the food is almost the same. However, sometimes I prefer the flavors of Kerala! – said Jayasurya.

Thanks to India

World Cups are unforgettable. Especially the ODI World Cup in 1996. We won and I was the player of the tournament. Before that we did not get much opportunities in international cricket. Some teams including India and Pakistan will come to play. We will also go to these countries. But opportunities to play once morest teams like Australia, England and West Indies were very few. But the situation changed following winning the World Cup in 1996. More teams started getting matches. No one thought we would win the World Cup! That World Cup was organized by India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Many teams were not interested in playing in Lanka. The Indian team came forward to play in Sri Lanka and show the world that it is safe. Thank you, India!

From school to team

Lankans like to work in banks and private sector. Cricketers are often employed by banks and companies. There are many cricket tournaments fought between these teams. I used to play for a bank team before I retired. Lanka has a very good school cricket system. Many players have made it to the national team from school cricket. Aravinda D’Silva, Arjuna Ranatunga, Roshan Mahanama, Harshan Thilakaratne… all these have come from school cricket to the national level!

English Summary : Kerala taste is favorite says Sanath Jayasuriya