The perils of hyping up Dunith Wellalage

We know the script really well by now. A player in his youth takes the world by storm. The management that is desperately trying to avoid the media scrutiny and the social media outrage that follows a team’s decline delineates the youngster as the messiah who will take them to the promised future. The media finds the urge to panegyrize a youngster too much to resist for they are driven more by emotion than intellect. The fans who are on the constant lookout for new heroes to be smitten with to drown the depressive realities of their very own existence in a failed nation elevate the youngster to a pedestal.
Early promise leads to expectations. Wild imagination and blind hope turn expectations unrealistic. And when the rough and tumble of international cricket starts taking its toll on the youngster, unrealistic expectations give way to frustration, frustration leads to exasperation, and finally, it all ends up in vile abuse and vitriolic tirades aimed at the youngster both in the media and social media.