Muralitharan to miss World Championships

Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan has suffered an elbow injury that rules him out of next month’s Twenty20 World Championships in South Africa. “Murali is affected by an elbow injury and he will be out for four to six weeks,” Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) secretary Kangadaran Mathivanan was reported to have told British newspapers from Colombo. Muralitharan is one of the worlds top cricketers and an icon in Sri Lanka.

Muralitharan was injured Tuesday after bowling 33 overs for Lancashire against Kent and was absent from the attack the following day, making him doubtful for the rest of the four-day game.  Lancashire manager Mike Watkinson told media persons at Canterbury: “Murali’s had a scan - and he’s got a strain in his bicep. We’ll just have to see how that settles down.  “We are waiting for the radiologist to report on it - and then we’ll see how we go.”

Buddha epic

Award winning director Shyam Benegal is all set to direct a historic epic on Gautam Buddha in Sri Lanka. Atul Tiwari, who scripted films like “Bose, the Forgotten Hero” and “Mission Kashmir”, has been roped in to write the script and dialogues. Buddhist scholars have been hired for the film while the producers have acquired over 1,000 acres of land near Colombo for a massive set.

Currency racket

Two Indians were arrested at Colombo International Airport for allegedly attempting to traffic a large amount of foreign currency through illegal means. Custom officials at the airport said that the two had swallowed Euro currency to the value of 10 million Sri Lankan rupees (about US$100,000). They were admitted to the hospital where doctors found eight lumps of Euros in their stomachs.

VIP security

Sri Lanka police has decided to limit the number of police personnel provided for the security of the VIP’s. The police have come to this decision due to the shortage of manpower. The personnel removed from VIP security will be deployed for crime investigation and check points, police spokesperson said. The decision to limit the personnel for VIP security was to take effect immediately.

Sprint queen

Sri Lanka sprint queen Susanthika Jayasinghe, who jubilated her countrymen by winning a bronze medal in the 200 meters at World Championship held at the Nagai stadium in Osaka, Japan, returned home to a hero’s welcome. The 31 year old female sprinter will also receive a cash award of one million rupees (C$25,000) from the government.

Susanthika snatched the medal after getting disqualified from the 100 meters event five days prior to that.