Jagath Perera
Legspinner Vijayakanth Viyaskanth played for Jaffna Stallions on Friday, and in an unbroken spell of four overs, returned creditable figures of 1 for 29. These are the cricketing facts of Viyaskanth’s Lanka Premier League debut. But they are not the most important ones.
Viyaskanth is the first born-and-bred cricketer from his city to appear in an internationally televised game from Sri Lanka. Jaffna – which Stallions ostensibly represent – is the intellectual and commercial hub of the Tamil north, and has through the course of its history been home to some of the island’s most erudite figures. More recently, the north and the east of the island have also produced a separatist ethnic struggle…