Thankfully Ajantha Mendis is not exposed to this rather meaningless debate on whether or not he should learn to speak English as an international cricketer. Proficiency in English will not make him a better cricketer. On the contrary, the time and effort spent on learning English can be put to better use to further develop his skill as an outstanding spin bowler.

Have we not seen international cricketers of repute from other countries speaking their native languages? On the contemporary scene we have stars like of Harbajan Singh (India) Danish Kaneira (Pakistan) who speak their own languages at post match interviews and there is no fuss in India or Pakistan. Let us leave ‘the use of English as a second language’ to educationists and academics and proceed with the game of cricket.

Ajantha Mendis should continue to express his thoughts, ideas and

expectations in the coherent manner he does for the benefit of us all in the language he knows best, his mother tongue, and leave the rest to

translators. Anything else will only be a distraction and an embarrassment to this emerging star. Let those with bourgeois  ideas who think English is the be all and end all of everything, face reality and leave Ajantha Mendis to ply his trade on the cricket field & continue to mesmerize batsmen as he did the Indian batters. Isn’t Anil Kumble a typical example of these ill conceived perceptions of the importance of English? Kumble’s spoken English  was a treat to listen to but he failed to deliver with the ball, Ajantha Mendis did, sans English, and Sri Lanka trashed India, which is the bottom line.