is no accident that Sri Lanka’s cricket team has long been made up mainly of Sinhalese. Ahead of the World Cup final Saturday, Mel Gunasekera writes for AFP : While [world record wicket-taker Muttiah] Muralitharan is the only Tamil in Sri Lanka’s team, the Muslim minority is partially represented by opening batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan. Dilshan, who has a Muslim father and Sinhalese mother, was born Tuwan Mohamed Dilshan but converted from Islam to Buddhism and changed his name. His manager, Roshan Abeysinghe, said he did it for personal reasons, adding that Dilshan wanted a Sinhala identity. Suraj Randiv, the 26-year-old all- rounder, who made his Test debut against India Saturday, is another of the cricketers who have changed their religion and names before joining Sri Lankas national team. Suraj Randiv was previously known as Mohamed Marshuk Mohamed Suraj, but he converted from Islam to Buddhism and changed his name in 2010.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Mar 2014 10:38:18 +0000