Embarassment of ditches

This is my blogchalk:
India, Bangalore, Parangipalya (Papaya Village), Hindi, Vivek, Male, 26-30, Cricket, Photography.

Kandy has one of the most picturesque grounds in the cricket world, even if it is but owned by a college. When Pakistan toured Sri Lanka in March and April, they were scheduled to play here, which can surely hold no more than 10,000 (if that isn't an exaggeration in itself). Still, whoever walked into the stadium (they don't cram into Test cricket in Lanka), must have been to support the departure of one of their most celebrated stars, Sanath Jayasuriya. The match at times looked of secondary importance as Jayasuriya was feted, praised and bade farewell in the most respectable manner. So much so that even the giant screen carried a farewell message repeatedly, throughout the match. In a manner of speaking, this meant Jayasuriya got more screen space than the Man of the Match, Mohd. Asif. After all, the opener had chosen to quit by his own accord, or so everyone thought.
One might remember Asantha de Mel as a past World Cup participant who managed to get 5-wkt haul in the tournament in 1983. He is now a selector and one of the first things he did after getting the job was to re-instate Jayasuriya claiming he was pushed out of the team contrary to popular belief. This not only made all those involved in the sending-off party at Kandy stupid, it also threw Sri Lankan cricket into further turmoil. The situation now is such that the team management doesn't want him, but the administration, to score a few cheap points over their predecessors, have made Jayasuriya a pawn.
The worst affected is neither Sri Lankan cricket nor the viewing public, but the man in question himself. There couldn't have been a humiliation greater than this for this once-phenomenal blaster. Now, the past looks so far back that he might as well recall those days with sepia-tinted flashbacks. This is not how a player of his calibre is treated, at least not when, his younger replacements aren't setting the English grounds on fire. If he was asked to quit, the decision should have stayed. Since it was reversed, he should have played. Now, he is no man's land, pale, surely, with embarassment.