ICC is toothless and unprofessional: Arjuna Ranatunga | Cricket News

Former Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga criticised Sri Lanka and Bangladesh cricket boards for agreeing to a reserve day for the India versus Pakan Super 4 fixture in the Asia Cup alone. Ranatunga, who is known to be outspoken, questioned the Asian Cricket Council’s decision to keep the tournament in Colombo amidst heavy rains and not allotting a reserve day for other group matches.
Last Friday, in an unprecedented move, the Pakan Cricket Board, technically the hosts of the tournament, added a reserve day to the India-Pakan match in Colombo as there was a heavy rain forecast. The decision at the eleventh hour raised eyebrows as it gave an advantage to India and Pakan, thus depriving them of a level-playing field. Eventually, the game that started on Sunday went into the next day and India won.
Ranatunga, in a select media interaction, observed that both the ACC and the International Cricket Council have become toothless in front of powerful boards. “I don’t know whether the ICC is acting today or whether we have ICC. They always say ICC is the toothless tiger. They act in a very unprofessional way. I think they are the ones who should look at cricket and protect cricket. Ultimately, cricket should be controlled the ICC, not a country or an individual,” he said.

“Now, you take the Asia Cup. You have rules before the tournament, but before that one game (India v Pakan), they changed the rules. So where is ACC? Where is ICC?” Ranatunga added.
While the decision received sharp criticism from Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha and Sri Lanka coach Chris Silverwoood, Sri Lanka Cricket and Bangladesh Cricket Board later put out statements on X (Twitter earlier) stating the decision to allot a reserve day was an unanimous one. “You have India, Pakan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh – four top teams — will keep Afghanan out. So when they try to change the rules, if the SLC and BCB say: ‘ok, do whatever you want’, they should be thrown out. Who is suffering? It is the players,” he said.

“I am not very comfortable with some of the things, especially when you have a tournament where you change rules for one team. You’re looking at a disaster in the future. 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,” Ranatunga fumed.
From deciding the hosts to adopting a hybrid model and keeping the tournament in Colombo amidst heavy rains, this edition of the Asia Cup has been a bad advertisement for ACC. Even the ticket rates being sold at higher prices has seen the R Premadasa Stadium remaining largely empty even for the India vs Pakan fixture.

‘Sad and uncomfortable’
“Our crowd, our spectators are so educated in cricket. They have better knowledge than us. Why did they do this (poor scheduling)? Why do other countries allow that to happen? Because the BCCI is powerful, or one particular person is powerful. No, it can’t happen like that. This is where I feel very, very uncomfortable and very sad. They should have given an extra day for all the games if that was the case.
On Thursday, as Sri Lanka were chasing Pakan’s target of 252 for a place in the final, they did so having one eye on the DLS as there were showers predicted for late evening. However, with the weather improving, they managed to overcome Pakan off the last ball to set up the final with India. “We are lucky that we won the game. You just imagine. If we had lost the game, it would have been a disaster,” Ranatunga said.Most Read
1
Jawan box office collection day 8: Shah Rukh Khan-starrer steamrolls over Gadar 2’s chances of beating Pathaan, eyes Rs 700 crore worldwide

2
Pakan vs Sri Lanka, Asia Cup 2023 Highlights: SL beat PAK two wickets in thriller, will face India in summit clash

See More

Ranatunga, who is credited as one of the sharpest captains and leaders ever to grace the game, is the man behind Sri Lanka turning into a force in world cricket. After his playing career, Ranatunga was part of the ICC’s Cricket Committee and for a brief period served as the chairman of SLC. Citing the examples of former ICC chiefs Jagmohan Dalmiya and Sharad Pawar, Ranatunga said they just focussed on improving the game.

“Earlier, there were quality people looking to protect cricket. I was working with Pawar and before that there was Dalmiya. They were more focussed on cricket. They didn’t play cricket, but still they had knowledge on some of the things. They had to fight with the others but still they could take decisions. Those days Australia, England used to control the ICC. But they put a foot on it and were fighting for the rights.” he noted.
In a tone dripping with sarcasm, Ranatunga wondered if the India-Pakan match in the World Cup will have a different set of rules too. “So, World Cup we’ll say halfway through the tournament, I won’t be surprised if they change the rule before the India-Pakan game. They might do it. The ICC will keep their mouth shut and say ‘OK, OK, do it’.”