Countering diverse challenges and uttering cheeky one-liners come naturally to Arjuna Ranatunga.
The former Sri Lanka captain, who held aloft the World Cup after humbling Australia at Lahore in 1996, remains a busy man.
Currently the minister of petroleum resources development in the Sri Lankan Government, Ranatunga keeps a reluctant-eye on cricket. Anguished with the sport’s governing system in the Emerald Isle but hoping that there will be a turn-around, he spoke about issues affecting the game and made some observations regarding Indian cricket.
Excerpts
Captain then, minister now: It is all about taking decisions. I am not scared to take decisions and that came from cricket. You have to take strong decisions when things are bad.
Sri Lankan cricket: I read the newspaper but hardly watch cricket. I was very disappointed after the last cricket elections. There are roles in this country, and I was not eligible to contest as the president.
Cricket was like a religion to this nation and we don’t have that religion now. That is nothing to do with the cricketers. It’s all about wrong administration. I am a politician and a cricketer but I still lose because cricket in this country is a mafia run by a business group.
2011 World Cup final: When it comes to the 2011 World Cup final, I never said I was concerned about match-fixing. I said there were issues and we need to address them. I am not taking the credit away from India at all. I can remember when I was seated with all the captains, my heart said Sri Lanka but India was the best side. I was not comfortable with the way we approached that game and some of the things that happened in the final, So I said that these are the things that the ICC should get into.
Fitness fads: No one talks about cricket fitness. A lot of people talk about the six-packs. Then you get models. I always say pick 15 models and tell them to play cricket. You take Duleep Mendis, (GR) Viswanath, (Mike) Gatting and (Colin) Cowdrey....these players, including me, wouldn’t have played if people running cricket today ran the game then!
Unconventional cricketers: We shouldn’t stop them (the Lasith Malingas and the Ajantha Mendises) from coming up. We shouldn’t go into these cricket theories, you need to identify the talent and groom them. I think that’s where we are lacking.
The 1996 World Cup triumph: The 1996 team was not the best team we had but it was the most committed team I picked. I wanted a team which gave me 100% and players who would give their lives for the country. That was the reason we won the World Cup.
Advice to Kohli: I prefer him to be a little sober. You take India and Sri Lanka, we have a different culture, we are not aggressive as the Australians or the English people. You don’t have to show a lot of aggression as a captain all the time because that can drain the entire system. That’s one reason when I get angry, I don’t show. If he asks me a question, I will say calm down a bit. He needs to be aggressive, but he doesn’t have to show. He is too young, he will learn.
