Did Ashantha de Mel achieve or fail?

It wasn't an easy ride for Ashantha de Mel, the Sri Lankan chairman of selectors, who recently made way for Aravinda de Silva. Being headstrong and outspoken were traits that didn’t win de Mel many admirers, but he did have excellent relationships with Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara. Rex Clementine in the Sunday Island reviews de Mel's stint as chairman and the decisions that didn't go his way.

People may have an axe to grind with him, but De Mel was a firm believer that once a player was past certain age, he wasn’t good enough for selection for the national team. Indika de Saram and Jeevantha Kulatunga were the casualties. They scored heaps of runs in domestic cricket but hardly got a look in. De Mel argued that making runs in domestic cricket and international cricket were two different things and openly admitted that Sri Lanka’s domestic cricket is extremely weak.