Cricket should be controlled by the ICC, not by a country or an individual: Former SL captain Arjuna Ranatunga

Not amused: Ranatunga was critical of the rule changes in the Asia Cup in the middle of the tournament.
| Photo Credit: Amol Karhadkar

Arjuna Ranatunga, the 1996 World Cup-winning captain, has lambasted the global and continental governing bodies for letting powerful boards dominate the cricket ecosystem.

Ranatunga even took a dig at former cricketers across the globe who have not protested against illogical amendments to the rules during the Asia Cup.

“I am not very comfortable with some of the things, especially when you have a tournament where you change rules for one team. You are looking at a disaster in the future. I feel very sad for ICC and ACC because they just want to hold the positions,” Ranatunga said during a select media interaction here on Friday.

“Why should they get into this? Might as well stay at home and allow someone to work on the cricket part. I don’t agree with that. No one talks about it. Have you ever seen a single cricketer talk about this rule change? No. Why? They don’t want to miss the buck. Simple as that.”

Less than three months shy of turning 60, Ranatunga referred to the ICC as a toothless body that doesn’t protect the interest of international cricket and cricketers.

Toothless striker

“I don’t know whether the ICC is acting today or whether we have ICC. They always say ICC is the toothless striker. They act in a very unprofessional way.

“I think they are the ones who should look at cricket and protect cricket. Like, ok, they all have franchises. That’s perfectly okay. But ultimately cricket should be controlled by the ICC, not by a country or an individual,” he said.

Citing the example of the addition of a reserve day of the Super 4s tie between India and Pakistan midway through the ongoing Asia Cup, Ranatunga stated he won’t be surprised if such an amendment is made during the forthcoming World Cup as well.

“You have rules before the tournament, but before that one game (India vs. Pakistan), they changed the rules. So where is ACC? Where is ICC?” Ranatunga said.