Sports
The Emperor at 60!

by Rex Clementine
Arjuna Ranatunga hasn’t spared any sacred cow. All those years ago, he targeted Shane Warne calling him an ordinary cricketer and there was no love lost between the two of them. Yet, when there was a ceremony remembering Warne in Galle last year ahead of the Australia – Sri Lanka Test match, he not only showed up but urged a few of his team mates to come along. Exterior is rough and tough but interior is soft and kind.
Sportsmen rewrite record books. But Arjuna more often rewrote the rule books. He also upset the apple cart, told the Board Chairman once to get out of the Sri Lankan dressing room, broke a few glass ceilings and was a pain for successive administrations of the sport both here and overseas. He turns 60 today.
As India cements owner N. Srinivasan made a regal entry into cricket governance, everyone was careful not even to talk anything out of turn. The business tycoon was known for his ruthlessness. Influential figures in cricket who knew inside out of the devout Brahmin warned that never to cross Srinivasan’s path. But Arjuna took on Srinivasan.
He was the only one. The rest of them, including the founding members of the ICC – England and Australia fell in line with him and agreed for the Big Three takeover of the ICC and a larger portion of ICC revenue to India. Only Arjuna spoke out. This is an unfair world and cricket is an unfair sport. It’s not supposed to be that way. Forget the world. At least cricket is supposed to be a fair playing field.
Srinivasan taught Arjuna a bitter lesson. He contacted Sports Minister Gamini Lokuge and promised a tour of India that would bring US$ 10 million to SLC. But only on one condition. The government had to get rid of Arjuna as the Board Chairman.
Lokuge said deal. Arjuna was out. That Lokuge went and signed a television deal with a backlisted company and plundered millions of dollars is a different story.
The rule of the day seems that in cricket everyone should make money. Ministers, Presidential Advisors, Lawyers, Law Enforcement Officers and even us reporters. To hell with cricket. Even if the national cricket team’s performance has hit an all time low it doesn’t matter as long as the board is making profits. It is fine if we don’t play international cricket for nearly three months when the IPL is on. The important thing is not to antagonize India.
You thought the Srinivasan episode would have taught Arjuna a few lessons. No. He has not learned a single thing.
Srinivasan though only had clout being the big boss of BCCI. His successor Jay Shah not only has clout, but he has even political power being the son of India’s Interior Minister and number two of the ruling BJP after the Prime Minister.
You knew what was in store for Arjuna when he ridiculed Shah. It was stupid. It was politically incorrect. The most sensible thing to do these days is to go with the flow. That is what Australian boss Mike Barid is doing. That is what Richard Thomson, the Chairman of England and Wales Cricket Board is doing, That is what right right is doing.
Why go and take on of all people Jay Shah? But that is Arjuna for you. He calls a spade a spade. Diplomacy is not his best trait. We all agreed that during the Asia Cup having a reserve day for just the India – Pakistan game was insane. But no body said a word. No one wants to antagonize the BCCI. Arjuna did. He called it ridiculous.
An Indian reporter asked him what he would have done if he were Sri Lanka’s captain. “I would have walked out with my team without playing the tournament. It’s not fair. Let them play an India – Pakistan final. This is not how I play cricket,” he said. How we long for those days. It would have been a nightmare for the ICC to deal with this guy.
At a time when our captains are happy to stand and take selfies with Virat Kohli, here’s one man who could have given Kohli as much as the Indian captain dishes out to others. At the age of 60 and being the grandfather of two, at least now you hope that Arjuna plays it safe. But that is not what he is. He has been always that combative kind of guy.
Playing his first game against his idol Sunil Gavaskar, Arjuna had goosebumps. It was a surreal moment. But the competitive nature in him compelled him to take on the Indian captain and get under his skin.
Gavaskar wasn’t upset but was impressed by what he saw in the teenager. He quietly went up to Board Charmian Gamini Dissanayake and told him, ‘Look after that boy. He will change Sri Lankan cricket one day.’
At times you tend to think that Arjuna is old school, but his observations on the game are quite sharp. India had come to Colombo for the Under-19 World Cup in 2006. One Rohit Sharma impressed him.
In subsequent years when the Indian senior team visited Sri Lanka and reporters interviewed him he kept on asking why Rohit Sharma is not part of the senior side. The Indians wondered why he is so obsessed with Rohit Sharma. The proof was there soon in what Rohit has gone onto achieve in the game.
Arjuna’s humour is quite unique too. For all these guys who have gone onto play the game at the highest level they have their humorous side.
Once he was captaining a World XI team against an Australian XI in Adelaide in an exhibition game. Ashwin Ferro, a reporter from Mid-Day newspaper from Bombay had gone to Adelaide for reporting.
A few World XI players were having niggles and the reporter had to play the game. Arjuna looked at him and said, ‘Hey you. You are bowling the first over.’ The poor reporter asked, ‘Why me.’ Arjuna replied. ‘You are from Bombay right. Most Ranji Trophy wins and all. Yes, you are bowling the first over.’
It’s been a glorious 60 for the captain cool. There are many wishes on his birthday and one of them is that he doesn’t change. You need that one voice to tell the powers that be to where to get lost.
Latest News
WTC winners to get USD 3.6 million in prize money

The winners of the Woorld Test Championship [WTC] final, to be played between South Africa and Australia at Lord’s starting June 11, will secure a prize money of USD 3.6 million, more than double of the winners in the last two cycles. The runners-up, meanwhile, will bag more than USD 2.1 million, while the prize for the same in the previous editions was USD 800,000.
The winners in the last two cycles — New Zealand and Australia — had earned USD 1.6 million each.
“The increase in prize money exhibits the ICC’s efforts to prioritize Test cricket as it looks to build on the momentum of the first three cycles of the nine-team competition,” the ICC said in its release.
India, who finished third on the table, will receive over USD 1.4 million, while fourth-placed New Zealand get USD 1.2 million. Even the prize money for teams finishing fifth (USD 960000) and sixth (USD 840000) — England and Sri Lanka — is more than what it was for the runners-up in the previous editions.
South Africa topped the table in the 2023-25 edition with eight wins from 12 games, and were the first team to seal a final spot with a dramatic two-wicket win over Pakistan. Defending champions Australia got through by pipping India to the second spot after winning the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 3-1 at home.
Both teams have named their squads for the final. The focus for South Africa will be on their pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada after his one-month ban for failing a drug test, while Cameron Green makes his return to Australia’s Test side after undergoing a lower spine surgery last year.
Sports
Kusal Mendis to replace Buttler at Gujarat Titans for IPL playoffs

Sri Lanka wicketkeeper-batter Kusal Mendis will replace Jos Buttler in the Gujarat Titans squad for the IPL 2025 playoffs.
Kusal Mendis had been at the Pakistan Super League (PSL) with Quetta Gladiators until last week, playing as their wicketkeeper-batter. He’d last played for them on May 7. But ESPNcricinfo has learned he will not travel to Pakistan for the remainder of the PSL due to perceived safety concerns, and has now pivoted to playing in the IPL, a league in which he has never previously appeared.
Buttler’s unavailability for the playoffs is down to his having been named in England’s ODI squad for the home series against West Indies, which starts on May 29. The IPL’s playoffs begin the same day.
GT have two other wicketkeeping options in their squad, in Anuj Rawat and Kumar Kushagra. However, Kusal Mendis has been in good form for Gladiators, hitting 143 runs at a strike rate of 168 in five PSL matches.
Merely being approached by an IPL franchise as a replacement is something of a career fillip for Kusal Mendis, who had entered his name in the IPL auctions repeatedly, but had never been bought. He is understood to be currently awaiting his India visa, and is likely to join the GT squad on Saturday.
GT currently sit atop the IPL table, equal on points with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, but with a better net run rate. They need only one more win to confirm their place in the playoffs.
[Cricinfo]
Latest News
CWI asks ICC for ‘fair and transparent’ pathway to LA28 Olympics

Cricket West Indies (CWI) has implored the ICC to provide a fair and transparent pathway for at least one of the Caribbean’s sovereign nations to represent West indies at the Los Angeles Olympics.
The heart of the problem here is that while in cricket many countries compete under the name the West Indies are administered by the same cricket board (CWI), the Olympics only allows sovereign nations to contest. There can be no team in which for instance, Barbadans, Jamaicans, Trinidadians, Guyanese, St. Lucians play in the same team, even though that is how regular cricket is organised.
So in the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, an event in which six nations will compete in cricket, the region hopes to have at least one of its sovereign states in play. Currently, West Indies women are ranked sixth on the T20I ICC rankings, and the men are fifth. West Indies men have won the T20 World Cup twice, and the women once. It is up to the ICC to nominate the teams that will participate in the Olympics.
There is also the additional complication that the United States, as the host nation of these Olympics, may be a frontrunner to gain automatic qualification despite their low rankings, though that has not been confirmed by the ICC. This means only five further spots are available.
“The Caribbean has always punched above its weight at the Olympics, inspiring the world with our athletic brilliance,” CWI president Kishore Swallow said. “Cricket’s return to the Games in 2028 must not exclude our young cricketers from the same dream that has inspired our athletes. The Olympic Charter emphasizes fairness, transparency, and universality. We are simply asking that these principles be upheld–not just in spirit, but in structure. West Indies cricket must have a pathway, and fully deserves an opportunity to compete.”
CWI has provided the ICC with two possible ways forward. To quote from the CWI release:
- If rankings are used and West Indies men and women teams technically qualify, an internal qualifying tournament among its Olympic affiliated member countries will determine which country represents the West Indies; or
- A global qualifying pathway that includes associate ICC members in the five ICC Development Regions plus member countries of the West Indies.
The first of these options would have the CWI, through domestic tournaments, pick their champions for the LA Olympics. The second would involve a more rigorous selection process, in which the sovereign nations that are members of the West Indies board compete alongside a host of other nations for Olympics spots.
What the CWI board stresses to ICC, however, is that qualification criteria must be “fair and transparent”, citing a bylaw in the Olympic Charter. Caribbean nations are accustomed to Olympic success, as several of them are frequently atop Olympics leaderboards for medals per capita. Their collective achievements in track events in particular, are recognised almost universally as extraordinary.
CWI CEO Chris Dehring said: “Our nations have proudly flown their individual flags atop Olympic podiums as perennial gold medalists. Now, with cricket’s inclusion, we must ensure that our cricketers are not shut out of history. We are ready to collaborate. We are ready to compete. But above all, we are asking for fairness.”
The ICC has made no announcement on what the Olympics qualification process will be, so far.
Cricket has only once been played in the Olympics, way back in 1900. On that occasion, France and Great Britain competed, with Great Britan winning the two day match by 158 runs. The highest individual score for France in the second innings was 8.
[Cricinfo]
-
Features6 days ago
SAITM Graduates Overcome Adversity, Excel Despite Challenges
-
Opinion6 days ago
Drs. Navaratnam’s consultation fee three rupees NOT Rs. 300
-
News6 days ago
Destined to be pope:Brother says Leo XIV always wanted to be a priest
-
Foreign News7 days ago
Mexico sues Google over ‘Gulf of America’ name change
-
Sports6 days ago
ASBC Asian U22 and Youth Boxing Championships from Monday
-
Features5 days ago
Championing Geckos, Conservation, and Cross-Disciplinary Research in Sri Lanka
-
Business6 days ago
Dilmah – HSBC future writers festival attracts 150+ entries
-
Midweek Review3 days ago
Bronze statue for P’karan, NPP defeat in the North and 16th anniversary of triumph over terrorism