IND vs SL: "ICC Is A Toothless Tiger" - Arjuna Ranatunga Slams ICC And ACC Over India-Pakistan Reserve Day
Published - 16 Sep 2023, 03:14 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:18 AM
Former Sri Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga criticized the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) and the International Cricket Council (ICC) for implementing a reserve day only for the Super 4 match between India and Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2023, due to bad weather conditions.
The ACC came under fire after deciding to add a reserve day specifically for the one match despite bad weather predictions for all Super Four games. They made this decision in the middle of the tournament, as the first match between the two ended without a result.
Where Is ACC? Where Is ICC? – Arjuna Ranatunga
Arjuna Ranatunga emphasized that cricket should be under the control of the ICC rather than any individual country like the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). He described the ICC as a “toothless tiger” who is unprofessional.
“ICC is a toothless tiger. They act very unprofessionally. I think they are the ones who should protect cricket. Ultimately cricket should be controlled by ICC and not by a country. In Asia Cup, you had rules and you changed rules for one game. So where is ACC? Where is ICC?,” Ranatunga was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
“So I will not be surprised if for World Cup, they have a separate rule for Indo-Pak game. This is bad. India is powerful, no doubt, but then ICC officials are quite comfortable, happy putting coat and tie and hanky and going to meetings,” he added.
The Men in Blue registered a convincing 228-run victory over the Babar Azam-led team on the reserve day, as only 24.1 overs of play were possible on the scheduled day. The remaining Super Four games produced results without any rain interruption.
Why Do Other Countries Allow That – Arjuna Ranatunga
The World Cup-winning skipper questioned the other members of the ACC over using the reserve day for only the India-Pakistan game.
“I am not very comfortable when you have a tournament, where you change rules for one team. You are looking at a disaster in the future.”
“Why do the other countries allow that (poor scheduling) to happen? Because the BCCI is powerful, or one particular person is powerful. No, it can’t happen like that. They should have given an extra day for all the games if that was the case.”
The Rohit Sharma-led team will face the Sri Lankan team, led by Dasun Shanaka, at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday, September 17.
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Arjuna Ranatunga Asian Cricket Council (ACC) International Cricket Council (ICC)
