Dubai: Mahela Jayawardene is known as a gentleman cricketer.
Sporting to the core, he played the game without getting provoked by sledging and made his bat do the talking.
Jayawardene inspired UAE’s top cricketers when he presented the 16th Shyam Bhatia awards for excellence in domestic cricket on Thursday night.
And in an exclusive interview with Gulf News, Jayawardene explained how he remained a respected cricketer on and off the field.
“I believe in playing hard,” he said. “I don’t believe in pulling back and once you wear your country’s jersey you must play to win and play as hard as you can and at the same time respect your opposition. I tell myself that they are there to do the same that I am doing and as long as you respect the opposition you will earn respect from them.”
Jayawardene then went on to candidly admit: “I hate losing games, so I am bad loser and at the same time a very tough competitor and that’s what it is all about. It has nothing to do with having a fight with an opposing player or passing remarks as long as on the field you compete with the bat and ball. That’s what will earn you respect.”
When asked about the secret of the longevity and consistency of his teammate Kumar Sangakkara and himself, Jayawardene said: “You need to be disciplined in all areas and you need to have a focus in what you want to do and what you want to achieve and work hard at it. There are no short cuts to be consistent and I think it’s all about hard work and discipline and as long as you stick to those ethics it will go a long way.”
His message to youngsters who want to emulate him?
“I think one must enjoy playing cricket, that’s what we did. We loved the game and till the day we finished playing international cricket we thoroughly enjoyed it.
“We did not play to accomplish anything but got up every morning, went to the ground, played cricket by keeping it simple. If you enjoy the game you will do well as a cricketer. You should not be burdened about performances and all. It is all about enjoyment and as long as you are enjoying you will perform.”
What does he feel UAE cricket needs to do to become a power in world cricket?
“I think what you have to realise is that even though UAE have got a lot of talent it is still a small nation where the talent pool is quite small. The kids are playing lot more cricket in UAE now, which is brilliant. You need to take one step at a time. As long as there are facilities and kids are playing the game you will develop as a team. Just keep at it and it is not that far away for UAE to make a real impact in international cricket and for that you need to have the belief as well. You will produce talented cricketers but you need few talented guys in any team and so as soon as you find those few talented players then the rest will play around them and thus you will have a solid team.”
