Time was, when they called Aravinda De Silva the ‘Mad Max’ of international cricket, for his berserker brilliance with the bat.

Over 18 seasons, the 5ft 3 inch dynamo with the passion for fast cars has reinvented himself so many times, everyone’s given up counting.

He started off as a pint-sized whirlwind intent on smashing every ball out of sight. Came the 1996 World Cup and the world saw a different Aravinda – one who, learning to temper his adrenaline with ice cold calculation, powered his team to an incredible title triumph and in the process, garnered four Man of the Match awards including in the semifinal against India and the final against Australia.

He then slipped into the role of pater familias of Sri Lankan cricket, following the ouster of buddy and captain Arjuna Ranatunga. A new dispensation, with its emphasis on youth, saw him lose his place in the side towards the end of the millennium.

Photo-feature
A look at the Sri Lankan maestro's career
Against each team
Team	M	Runs	HS	Ave
Aus	12	803	167	47.24
Eng	11	739	152	38.89
Ind	19	1252	148	41.73
NZ	12	785	267	39.25
Pak	21	1475	168	42.14
SA	7	461	82	35.46
WI	3	228	78	45.60
Zim	7	412	143*	51.50
Ban	1	206	206	206.00
TOTAL	93	6361	267	42.98
Click for more statistics

Aravinda, though, figured there was still something left in him to give. So he gave up 12 kilos, returned leaner and fitter, forced his way back into the team after an 18-month hiatus, and embarrassed the young guns with his speed and athleticism in the just concluded Champions Trophy.

He capped his return with a magnificent bowling performance – more re-invention – against the favored Australian outfit in the semifinal. And then, true to his habit of surprising people, he announced on October 3 his retirement from Test cricket, a fortnight short of his 37th birthday.

Arguably Lanka’s best-ever strokemaker, Aravinda indicated he would like to continue playing the shorter version of the game, and represent his country in the 2003 World Cup in South Africa.

Ranatunga has one word to describe his former vice-captain’s stature in Lankan cricket: 'Huge!'

In a freewheeling chat with Assistant Editor Faisal Shariff in Colombo, Aravinda retraces his career and discusses various controversies – including the allegation by Indian investigators that he was involved in match-fixing.

They used to call you 'Mad Max.'

It was after the 1986 tour of India that they started calling me Mad Max. I guess it was probably the way I approached the game in the initial stages of my career. I tried to get on top of the bowler right from the start and I believed a lot in myself. I was able to do that at a very young age.

And when did Mad Max begin to downshift gears?

I think with experience you learn the situation and bat accordingly. I have matured in the way I approach my batting now. But the aim still stays the same -- to get on top of the bowler right from the start.

Your career has paralleled the growth in Sri Lankan cricket.

I am proud to have experienced the joy of seeing my country get Test status. It is interesting to see the way we approached Test matches then, and how we approach them now. It is a totally different mental aspect we go with, it is what we had to do to get to the top. I have realized that it is a long way to the top. There is tremendous hardship and pain.

Arjuna Ranatunga and you have been the pillars of Lankan cricket through close to two decades. How would you characterize him?

Arjuna took over at a time when the side had a bit of confidence, and had some very good players. We should not forget the players who were around at that time, those guys played very well and we worked together for close to six years. Arjuna is a very tough guy. His strength and confidence carried down to the team. He made the side mentally stronger. Under him we played with a lot of pride and passion.

When you were dropped, once, from the Lankan side to tour Sharjah, Ranatunga refused to lead the team. What does that kind of gesture mean to a player?

There were three other players as well (who were dropped). His brother was also left out. It gives a lot of confidence to a player when there is so much backing from the skipper, it gives the team a sense of stability. It forms a bond, which sticks the team together.

Has batting in Tests changed with the advent of one-day cricket?

Batsmen play more shots now than before because of one-day cricket, and there are more results. Actually, it is one day cricket that needs a change, especially from the 15th to the 40th over, when it has become monotonous.

I reckon there should be some change, like say the field restrictions should be for any fifteen overs in the 50 overs rather than for the first fifteen. That will make the game more interesting, and the captains will have to think that much more and shift their batting order. At the beginning of any over the captain should tell the umpire that this is one of the fifteen overs which fall under the fielding restrictions. That change is needed to make the one-day game more exciting.

After so many years at the top, you had recently to prove yourself in domestic cricket to get back into the side. How did that feel?

There are people in the organization who create situations like this, and I am glad they are now out of the system. It was a good experience, to understand that way of life. I have learnt a lot and realize what sort of world we live in. You suffer, you learn and you come out of it. It is a journey I wish no one else experiences.

You sound philosophical -- but the fact is you lost over a year.

I lost one-and-a-half years because of politics. That period was one of my best phases. I learnt that you are destined to lose some things, and gain some things.

You have won a World Cup, you have piled up innumerable milestones -- so what keeps you going even now?

Probably the critics (laughs). As long as they criticize me, I will keep playing. I will call it a day when I want to. That is what I want to do. I will fight until the end.

How much does the media affect your life?

The main thing is not to worry about the media, about whether they praise you or criticize you. If some people give me credit and then criticize me, I am okay with that but if they only want to criticize me then I want to give it back to them.

How did you manage to lose so much weight?

It is a lot of hard work and you have to be committed, make a lot of sacrifices. If you want to reach the pinnacle, you have to endure the pain.

1996 was a watershed year in Lankan cricket.

All the players contributed in a lot of ways (to the World Cup win). The senior players had a huge contribution towards the victory with radical ideas and plans to stun the opposition. It was a team of 14 players, and the management was extremely accommodating.

What do you think went wrong in the 1999 World Cup? The team failed to make it to the knockout stage of the tournament.

We made a big blunder by taking only three pace bowlers to England in May. From there onwards it was very hard, once you go to England and find that the players you have are not suited to those conditions it s a struggle. It was obviously tough for the team to perform with a side that was not suited to the plan of action.

Sri Lanka's tour of England earlier this year was a debacle. Your coach Dave Whatmore thought taking only four seamers to England was a big mistake.

We had a few seamers, but we missed (Muthiah) Muralitharan in the first Test. If we had a good spinner we would have won the Test. And if we had won that Test, the series would have been totally different. But then that is past -- now we need to plan ahead.

How?

I think junior cricketers must be given more opportunities, more exposure by playing in more competitive sides. Ideally 'A' teams from other Test playing nations -- not teams like Bangladesh or Kenya -- should play against our teams. These teams also need to play Australia, England and South Africa's 'A' teams in their countries and keep improving. That is the only way forward. If you act now then you will be able to reap the benefits in 3, 4 years. Or else we will keep returning from away tours with humiliating defeats.

You led the side in the 1992 World Cup -- did captaincy make you change your batting style?

When I go out there I basically do the same thing, I keep playing the way I know best -- attacking from the start and taking the attack to the bowlers. When I got the captaincy there were a lot of other problems in the team. It was not a long stint. So I think it wasn't the best time for me. But later on it would have been an ideal opportunity. I would have loved leading the team.

Do you want to lead Sri Lanka again?

It is a bit too late in the day for that. I would love to continue in whatever way I can. I am not bothered any more about the captaincy. If I had got it, I would have done a good job. I want to help the youngsters.

How do you rate Jayasuriya as captain?

He is not a bad captain. It is just that in situations, he needs to do things according to the players he has, the opposition he faces and the situation he finds himself in. That is one area he will have to work on, with more experience he will come to terms with it.

What is your take on coach Dave Whatmore?

He has helped the youngsters and built their confidence. But I believe that it has been a team effort. Duleep Mendis has been helping a lot too.

Do you reckon Asian teams need foreign coaches?

I don't agree. If you take Pakistan, there couldn't have been anyone better than Imran Khan to help them. When you have people like that you make use of them, not waste them.

It is hard to know who the best coaches are. They have to be involved with the team at all times. Politics plays a big part in the sub-continent. The main reason to appoint a foreigner is to keep him away from the politics. I am sure that former players can make very good coaches at home.

But Kapil Dev failed as a coach.

Yes, he did. But there again, it is tough to say. For Kapil it must be straightforward to do some things. If you ask him to bowl line and length he will say it is the easiest thing. It may not be easy for someone else. That is something a coach needs to understand -- the capacity of the individual player. Kapil probably failed to do that.

How much did playing county cricket for Kent help you?

The five months I spent there gave me lot of confidence and enjoyment. I really enjoyed England; it is like my second home. It gave me the exposure that I required at that stage.

Your name figured in match-fixing allegations -- how true was it? Did you ever meet any bookies? Manoj Prabhakar admitted in the CBI report that he introduced you to a bookie.

As long as I know that I was clean, it does not matter what someone else says. I know I informed the board when an approach was made to me. Manoj never introduced anyone to me -- in fact, he himself says he did not introduce me to anyone. When the approach was made, I informed the officials and we had a team meeting that night in India. I told my story to the inquiry committee in Sri Lanka. I came out clean.

For 18 years you have gone out there and batted for your country. Once you quit, what next?

I haven't decided yet. I have got a wife and little son who I would love to spend time with. My son is only eight months old. I would like to see him grow.

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Mail Cricket Editor