This draft has been prepared as a cautious starting point for an IndiaWiki entry on Romesh Ratnayake, a figure associated with the cricketer cohort. It is intended strictly for internal editorial use and is not meant for direct publication. The purpose of the document is to provide a neutral scaffolding that editors can populate with verified facts, citations and well-sourced context. Because the present draft has been generated only from the subject's name and cohort, it deliberately refrains from asserting biographical specifics, including but not limited to dates of birth or death, places of origin, family relationships, educational institutions attended, teams represented, playing roles, captaincy or coaching tenures, statistical performances, awards, sanctions or honours.
Editors are encouraged to treat every blank or generalised passage in this draft as an explicit invitation to verify and expand using reliable secondary sources. Where the subject's name is shared with other individuals, disambiguation should be undertaken before adding any factual content. The tone throughout aims to be encyclopaedic, neutral and consistent with Indian English usage. Editors should also remain alert to the possibility that some online sources may conflate this subject with similarly named persons; cross-referencing across multiple independent and authoritative outlets is therefore recommended at every stage of the rewrite.
The cricketer cohort encompasses a wide range of individuals, including domestic players, first-class and List A participants, international representatives, and those who have transitioned into coaching, administration, commentary, umpiring or selection roles. Without verified sources before us at the time of drafting, this section can only sketch the kind of background information that a finished article would normally include. A reader approaching such an article would typically expect a brief account of the subject's early life, the environment in which an interest in cricket developed, the formats in which the subject participated, and the broad arc of any playing or post-playing career.
Editors completing this section should aim to establish the subject's primary identification clearly: whether the person is principally known as a batter, bowler, all-rounder or wicketkeeper; the levels at which the subject competed; and the era in which the subject was most active. Geographical, cultural and institutional context relevant to the subject's career should be added with care, ensuring that each claim is grounded in a citation. Editors are reminded that, in the absence of reliable corroboration, it is preferable to leave a section concise and accurate rather than to pad it with speculative detail or material drawn from unverified web pages.
An assessment of significance should ideally explain why the subject merits a standalone encyclopaedic entry. For a person in the cricketer cohort, significance may stem from sustained participation at a recognised competitive level, a notable contribution to a team's performance, an influence on the development of the sport in a particular region, or a post-playing role that has shaped coaching, administration or public understanding of cricket.
In drafting the significance section of the final article, editors should resist the temptation to overstate impact or to use evaluative language not supported by independent sources. Phrases that imply ranking, comparison or distinction—such as "one of the finest", "record-breaking" or "legendary"—should be avoided unless backed by citations from reputable outlets. Conversely, editors should also avoid understating the subject's relevance where reliable sources do support a stronger claim. Where significance is contested or where reliable sources differ, the article should reflect that diversity of view rather than adopting a single perspective. The aim is to give readers a balanced sense of why the subject is documented in cricketing literature, without crossing into promotional, partisan or speculative territory.
The following checklist sets out the categories of information that editors should specifically verify before incorporating into the final article. Each item should be supported by at least one, and ideally more than one, independent and reliable source.
Where any of these items cannot be confidently verified, the corresponding passages should be omitted from the published article rather than retained in tentative form. Editors should also document, in the talk page or internal notes, the sources consulted and the reasoning behind decisions to include or exclude particular details, so that future contributors can build on a transparent foundation.
Once verification is complete, the final article should follow a clear, reader-friendly structure consistent with IndiaWiki conventions for cricketing biographies. A recommended outline is as follows:
Editors should ensure that section lengths are balanced and that no single sub-area is allowed to dominate the article unless its prominence is genuinely supported by source material.
This draft has been written deliberately in a generalised register to avoid introducing unverified specifics. Reviewers should treat it as scaffolding only. When rewriting, please apply the following principles. First, every concrete claim added to the article must be supported by a citation to a reliable, independent source; primary statistics should be drawn from established cricket databases, while narrative claims should rely on reputable journalistic or scholarly outlets. Second, neutrality must be maintained throughout, particularly in any section touching on disputes, controversies or comparative assessments of ability. Third, Indian English spelling and punctuation conventions should be applied consistently. Fourth, disambiguation should be considered at the outset: if more than one notable person shares this name, a hatnote and, where appropriate, a separate disambiguation page may be required. Finally, the article should comply with policies relating to biographies, with particular caution exercised where the subject may be a living person. Any tentative or unsourced material currently retained in this draft should be removed before publication rather than allowed to remain as filler.
No references have been cited in this draft, as it has been generated solely from the title and cohort and is intended for editorial development rather than publication. Editors completing the article should populate this section with full bibliographic citations to the independent and reliable sources consulted, including books, peer-reviewed material, established cricket statistical databases, and reputable news organisations. Each citation should be sufficiently detailed to allow verification by other editors and readers.