Murali's Cup of harmony brimmeth over in post-war Sri Lanka

The measure of a cricketer is by what he does on the field. The measure of a legendary cricketer is by what he continues to do once he has left the ground. Muttiah Muralitharan is a classic example.

After close to two decades in international cricket, the legendary spinner, who had been a symbol of peace during the height of the ethnic war in Sri Lanka, is now helping school children realize their dreams of playing cricket. The Murali Harmony Cup - in its second edition this year - is a tournament supported by Muralitharan's charity group and seeks to help children share a common sporting platform.

Started in 2012, the Murali Harmony Cup is slowly becoming the sporting symbol of unity in a country that is surely but steadily recovering from the scars of a war-ravaged nation. The tournament is a 20-team reconciliation championship to promote unity, goodwill, teamwork, the spirit of fair play and, more importantly, service to disadvantaged rural communities in post-war Sri Lanka. The tournament has been jointly organised by Muralitharan's charity the Foundation of Goodness, travel company Red Dot Tours and the Sri Lanka Army.

With players from Jaffna, Oddusuddan, Mankulam, Kilinochchi and Vavuniya among others, the tournament is both closely fought and passionately played. "This is a unique tournament that brings together Sri Lankan kids from different backgrounds to share their joy of cricket together," says Muralitharan, the highest wicket-taker in Test match history. But winning is not the only 'target' of this tournament.

Born in Kandy, Muralitharan is a Tamil. But at the height of the war, when the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam fought tooth and nail against the government forces in Lanka for more than 25 years, the 41-year-old, by his sheer popularity, was like an 'international' citizen.

Murali was a crusader of peace, who rode the beauty of cricket to spin unity in a war-ravaged nation. Post retirement, Murali has taken this initiative forward by starting a cricket tournament among school children. Interestingly, the Harmony Cup has the endorsement of the International Cricket Council.

"The tournament was very popular last year with big crowds, lots of fun and friendship, and everyone wanted it to continue so we had to somehow make it happen again," he says. The spinner though is not alone in this noble endeavour. Teammates Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene - a trustee in Muralitharan's Foundation of Goodness - are equally involved in helping children through the five-day tournament. "Last year the tournament unearthed three exceptional cricketers from the north who are now playing with leading first-class clubs and this year too I am confident we'll see some really talented cricketers," says Jayawardene.

This year's tournament has a special guest, Ian Botham. The former England all-rounder, whose charity walks across the Alps are now world famous, will inaugurate the Harmony Cup at Mankulam in northern Sri Lanka, a four-hour drive from Jaffna and Vavuniya.

Names like Jaffna, Kilinochchi and Vavuniya almost immediately remind of the LTTE war in the Eighties and Nineties. Today, in new Sri Lanka, these are hotspots for a different reason. Charity organisations like the Foundation of Goodness are infusing fresh life and trust among young citizens, who are expected to conquer the barriers of ethnicity. And what better than a clutch of international cricket stars to show the path to enlightment. Cricket indeed has been a great leveler in the island nation.