v.s. South Africa. He captained the depleted Sri Lankan team at the 1994 Austral-Asia Cup which was held in Sharjah whereas main players such as Aravinda de Silva and Arjuna Ranatunga pulled out of the tournament due to personal reasons. He played a key pivotal role in Sri Lanka's maiden triumph at an ICC Cricket World Cup event which came in 1996 where Sri Lanka crowned as unbeaten winners of the tournament defeating Australia in the final by 6 wickets which was held in Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. 'Retired hurt' is common parlance in cricket, but that is the name former Sri Lankan cricketer Roshan Mahanama chose for his biography, reflecting his feelings after he was not considered for selection in the ODIs and Tests, following the team's disastrous showing in the 1999 World Cup. The authorities told Mahanama that he was dropped to groom young talent. But then players older than him found a place, and that hurt the veteran. As a matter of principle and self-respect he decided to retire. These facts are mentioned in the book 'Retired hurt,' penned by noted Australian sports chronicler Ken Piesse, based on 40 hours of taped narration on Roshan's experience on and off the field. He featured in four ICC Cricket World Cup tournaments in 1987, 1992, 1996 and 1999 during his international career and retired from international cricket following the 1999 World Cup. Match referee Following his retirement from international cricket in 1999, Roshan Mahanama made the transition into becoming an International Cricket Council match referee. He made his debut as a match referee in the ODI between West Indies and Bangladesh in Kingstown 2004. In the same series, he made his Test debut and to date, he has refereed in 61 Tests. On 21 October 2014 during ODI series between New Zealand and South Africa, Roshan Mahanama entered the elite group of match referees who have officiated 200+ matches. Mahanama stepped down from the job of being a match referee from international cricket with his last appearance came in the last test match between New Zealand and Australia in 2015. He joined the elite panel in 2004 and has refereed in 61 Tests, 222 ODIs and 35 T20Is till 15 September, including in three World Cups and the 2009 Champions Trophy. Mahanama became the first match referee to serve in a day-night Test match in the history of the game,