Colombo: World Cup-winning skipper Arjuna Ranatunga said Wednesday corruption ‘goes right to the top’ in Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and accused the International Cricket Council (ICC) of undermining the game by failing to tackle match-fixing.
Ranatunga, now a government minister, said cricket corruption in Sri Lanka went far beyond the claims made in an Al Jazeera documentary which was aired Sunday. He said the allegations must be investigated, ‘but this must have been happening for a long time’.
“This is something that goes right to the top (in Sri Lanka). What they will catch is the small fish. As usual the bigger fish will get away,” Ranatunga, who led the team to the 1996 World Cup triumph, asserted.
“I am so disappointed with the ICC anti-corruption unit,” Ranatunga said, referring to previous complaints against Sri Lanka Cricket, which is headed by politician and businessman Thilanga Sumathipala. The 54-year-old has in the past accused Sumathipala of involvement in gambling in violation of ICC rules. Sumathipala has denied the charge.
“If they can’t see what is happening in Sri Lanka. they should not sit on this anti-corruption unit,” Ranatunga told reporters,” here Wednesday.
The petroleum minister asserted that the Sri Lankans implicated in the ‘Al Jazeera’ documentary could not change the outcome of a Test match unless they had backing from superiors.
“They are small fish,” Ranatunga said referring to the groundsman of the Galle stadium, Tharanga Indika, and a district coach, Tharindu Mendis. “They can’t do it unless they have agreement with those right at the top.”
Ranatunga said the global audience for cricket was declining because of corruption allegations. He blamed the ICC. “The ACU has been very poor. They have not used some of their powers and I think that is one reason why cricket has gone down very badly in the world in the last so many years,” Ranatunga informed. “They (the ICC) need to take a big step and take a lot of hard decisions,” Ranatunga added.
Ranatunga said last year, he raised suspicions that the 2011 World Cup final was tainted. “The ICC did not investigate, Sri Lanka Cricket did not investigate and we allowed things to continue,” he said and added that he was still distressed by Sri Lanka’s six-wicket defeat in the Mumbai final to India.
The former captain also asserted that Sri Lanka’s humiliating 2-3 loss to bottom-ranked Zimbabwe in five one-day matches on home soil last year should also be investigated.
“If they (ICC) can’t see what is happening in Sri Lanka cricket, they should not sit on the anti-corruption unit. Global audience in cricket has gone down because of ICC’s failure to tackle corruption”
Arjuna Ranatunga
