Marvan Atapattu was a doughty servant of Sri Lankan cricket
|
The international career of former Sri Lanka captain and leading batsman Marvan Atapattu looks to be at an end.
His request to be released from his central contract with Sri Lanka Cricket has been agreed by the national board.
Atapattu, 36, made his debut in 1990 and scored 5,330 runs in 88 Tests and 8,529 runs in one-day internationals.
It seems likely that he has accepted a money-spinning offer to play for the Indian Cricket League, which is currently courting leading ex-players.
Atapattu's significant achievement in cricket is his record of hitting six double-hundreds in Tests, a feat bettered only by Don Bradman (12), Wally Hammond and Brian Lara (seven each).
Some reports on Sunday suggested he had been offered more than US$500,000 (£245,000) to join the ICL.
Lara has confirmed he will participate in the venture, which some fear could be the biggest threat to the cricket establishment since Kerry Packer's World Series breakaway in the 1970s.
~RS~a~RS~International~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~08~RS~){kind=small}
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~08~RS~)
E-mail this to a friend
Printable version
Bookmark with:
What are these?