Mahela Jayawardene was only 12 years old when a team-mate lost both his parents in a bomb attack at a bus stop in Colombo.

ThePapare.com felt it appropriate to re-publish these articles in homage to our two grand crusaders

There was this yarn spun a while back about two friends and their involuntary adversity with each other. The narration, ‘a tale of two friends’ was stalled almost mid-sentence as the duo’s journey had only just begun.