Marvan Atapattu has retired and with that Sri Lankan cricket loses one of its batting pillars. His batting may not have been that soothing to the eye, his innings very workman like , but most importantly, he scored runs and runs which earned his team victories.
He was their most reliable opening batsman and perhaps the greatest opening pair of Sri Lanka had been the pair of Atapattu and Jayasuriya. Jayasuriya the more aggressive, while Marvan the more serene always taking his time to settle down. But once Atapattu got accustomed to the wicket, it was very difficult to remove him from the crease. While some may argue that in today's fast-paced cricket, he does not fit into the bill for one-day cricket, but everyone will agree that for Test matches, he was the ideal batsman. In fact, I feel that he was also suitable for the one-day game because Sri Lanka has not had a stable opening pair for a while, or he could even bat one down in the one-days and steer his team through the more tenuous overs ; particularly during times when his team was in danger.
His retirement does not come as much of a surprise since he was clearly dissatisfied with the board of selectors.
In the last match he scored 51 and 80 against the best team of the world--Australia. This just goes to prove his batting ability and the fact that despite his recent problems with the board, he solely concentrated on cricket. His departure is a big loss for Sri Lankan cricket.