In recent years, Sri Lankan cricket has had several highs and lows. The Lankan Lions have had difficulty maintaining consistency in international cricket across formats after players like Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara retired. One of their most notable recent accomplishments was winning the Asia Cup 2022 under the captaincy of Dasun Shanaka.
However, Sri Lanka played a deceitful game in the T20 World Cup that followed. Sri Lanka had a hit-and-miss performance at the Asia Cup this year but still made it to the finals, finishing behind India. Arjuna Ranatunga, one of the best captains in sports history, praised the present team and claimed that they were a more brilliant group than the legendary group that won the ODI World Cup in 1996.
Aravinda de Silva and Sanath Jayasuriya, among other outstanding cricketers, were on Ranatunga’s revolutionary Sri Lankan team, which he captained. Aravinda was the lone member of the 1996 team who the 59-year-old claimed was more gifted than the current crop of cricketers.
He was reported by Daily Mirror as saying, “With the exception of Aravinda de Silva, the cricket team we have today is more talented than the 1996 squad.” Ranatunga criticized the current cricket administration for deceiving the nation’s young and skilled players.
Arjuna Ranatunga disagreed with ACC’s choice to pay Sri Lankan curators and groundskeepers.
The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) awarded Kandy and Colombo’s curators and groundskeepers a prize of $50,000 USD for their work during the Asia Cup. Mohammed Siraj, who was named Player of the Match in the Colombo final for his six-wicket haul, also gave the groundskeepers his prize money. Arjuna Ranatunga, however, voiced his worries about these occurrences and requested that the media look into them.
“I’ve got a query. India has visited Sri Lanka on numerous occasions. Due to the hard work of the ground personnel, some games were washed out while others were played. However, I have never seen anyone give them financial prizes. If the money is donated to someone rather than being taken, I like it very lot. But at the end of the competition, the Man of the Match also donated the staff his award money, according to Ranatunga.
“The groundsmen have provided their services for all of these years, but not even Sri Lanka Cricket’s management has made compensation of this kind. The media needs to look at these details, the former legend said.
India
