Karachi, May 31 (Ajit Weekly News) Former Sri Lanka wicketkeeper-batter Hashan Tillakaratne, who is currently in Pakistan with his country’s women’s team as coach for the white-ball series, caught up with his batting hero Javed Miandad and later said he was “looking for this opportunity” for a long time.
Tillakaratne, who was also captain of the Sri Lanka side, had played against the legendary Pakistani batter in the 1990s.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) posted a video and several images of the two cricketing greats meeting up and tweeted, “Women’s team head coach Hashan Tillakaratne catches up with his batting hero Javed Miandad and receives a special souvenir.”
A beaming Tillakaratne, 54, who played 83 Tests and 200 ODIs, scoring 4,545 and 3,789 runs respectively, later revealed how happy he felt meeting the Pakistani legend.
“I was looking for this opportunity, a very heart-warming meeting with Javed. We exchanged so many things, I want to thank PCB for arranging this meeting,” Tillakaratne said in a video posted by PCB.
“Thanks for coming, and at least we share what we have done in the past,” said Miandad. “I hope you must be enjoying your stay in Pakistan and you must be very well looked after,” he added.
With the video, PCB tweeted, “A wish fulfilled! Former Test captain and current head coach of the country’s (Sri Lanka) women team, Hashan Tillakaratne meets the legendary Javed Miandad, having played against him in the 1990s.”
The first ODI between Pakistan and Sri Lankan Women at the Southend Club Cricket Stadium in Karachi will mark the beginning of the ICC Women’s Championship 2022/2025 cycle and the hosts would like to get a head-start in a busy season ahead.
After the completion of the T20I leg, Pakistan will aim to carry forward the winning momentum from the T20I series, which they won 3-0, into the three-match ODI leg with all the IWC matches to be held at the same venue in Karachi.
–Ajit Weekly News
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