Two High Profile Former Sri Lankan Cricketers Join Hambantota 2018 Bid

Wicket record holder in tests, Mutthaih Muralitharan, has been handed a important role in Hambantota’s bid to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games by being one of the delegates that will make the final presentation alonf with fellow cricketer Aravinda da Silva.

The Sri Lankan, the only bowler in the history of the sport to take more than 800 Test wickets, is expected to be part of the delegation that will make the final presentation as the city bids against its only rival, the Gold Coast, at the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) General Assembly in St Kitts and Nevis on November 11.

Muralitharan is set to be joined by Aravinda de Silva, Sri Lanka’s former captain who scored more than 6,000 runs in 93 Test matches.

The two former cricketers are expected to spread the message that by awarding the Games to Sri Lanka for the first time it would help reunite the country following the civil war which ended in 2009.

Ajith Nivard Cabraal, the co-chairman of Hambantota 2018, said: “No Games will ever have a greater legacy than that of helping a nation in uniting its people. It [the Commonwealth Games] gives us in Sri Lanka the opportunity to showcase to the world that we have emerged out of challenging times and that we have truly reconciled.

“As a unified nation we in Sri Lanka are on an exciting and progressive journey. Bidding for and hosting the Games in 2018 is a key part of that journey. For us there is much more at stake than tourism and revenue generation. The Games can be a catalyst for sustainable economic, social and cultural development. They can help us in building a better tomorrow for all our people.”