25 March 2024 last updated at 19:12 GMT
 
Ranatunga blasts BCCI
Wednesday 01 June 2011

Arjuna Ranatunga is not one to mince his words and the former Sri Lankan skipper has lashed out at the BCCI for bullying the International Cricket Council with their financial might.

"The ICC's job is to protect the game. They don't have to favour anyone. The game has been nurtured by honourable men of the ICC for decades, but at present, ICC looks to be under the thumb of India," Ranatunga told Sri Lankan newspaper The Island.

The former World Cup winner went on to call the ICC a 'toothless tiger' always succumbing to the BCCI's demands.

"Not too long ago we had individuals like Malcolm Speed, Eshan Mani and Malcolm Grey who stood against India. But the current ICC is weak and they simply give in. The ICC is becoming a toothless tiger," he opined.

Ranatunga revealed his fears for the future of Test cricket due to the IPL as players seem to find the T20 league more attractive instead of the traditional format.

"I have seen this IPL and I must say from the first day I didn't like it. We have created a monster that will go on to destroy international cricket," Ranatunga said."

Ranatunga said calls for creating a window for IPL in the international calendar were "ridiculous".

"It's absolutely ridiculous. If we are going into that, what about if other countries also ask for windows. If you take football, international matches aren't the priority except for the World Cup, which comes once in four years. In football the glamour is in club tournaments.

He blamed the absence of cricketers from the ICC's top decision-making body for the current scenario.

"One fault that I see with the ICC at the moment is that most of the Directors haven't played the game and the main decisions are taken at the Directors' meeting.

"If you take most of the CEOs of cricket boards, they are past cricketers, but when they come up with suggestions for the well-being of the game, the Directors need to support those decisions rather than rejecting them," he concluded.

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