Ranatunga Should Have Been Happy That India Is Touring Sri Lanka During These Tough Times: Venkatapathy Raju

Former Indian spinner Venkatapathy Raju is astonished by Sri Lankan great Arjuna Ranatunga’s controversial statement with regards to the Indian contingent that will lock horns with the former World Cup winners in the island nation in the coming days.

With a majority of first-choice Indian players currently in England, the BCCI has sent a young side consisting of as many as 6 uncapped players for the ODI and T20I series in Sri Lanka.

Taking strong exception, Arjuna Ranatunga recently courted controversy when he said that India sending their ‘second string’ players to Lanka is a sign of ‘disrespect’ to the island nation.

“This is a second-string Indian team and their coming here is an insult to our cricket. I blame the current administration for agreeing to play with them due to television marketing needs,” Ranatunga had said.

“India sent their best team to England and sent a weaker side to play here. I blame our board for that,” he added.

Reacting to Ranatunga’s statement, Venkatapathy Raju started that it is unbecoming on the part of the former to term the Indian team as ‘second string’.

“I’m not a firm believer of this word ‘second-string’. They are all aspiring cricketers; you can’t really call them second-string. That’s where Ranatunga went wrong. He should not have said second-string. That was an unwanted comment from such a great cricketer,” Venkatapathu Raju told Hindustan Times in an exclusive chat.

‘I think these guys are professional enough’- Venkatapathy Raju on whether Indian players will be motivated by Arjuna Ranatunga’s statement

Raju further added that Ranatunga should be happy that India is touring Sri Lanka at a time when the island nation is undergoing its worst phase since the 1980s.

“He should have been happy that a team is coming and touring Sri Lanka during these tough times. Sri Lanka are also trying to form a team, try youngsters for the T20 World Cup. So, I was a little surprised that such a senior and great cricketer would refer this Indian side as a second-string. People are waiting for cricket to happen,” Raju said.

Asked if the Indian players will be more determined to perform following Ranatunga’s statement, Venkatapathy Raju said that the players are professional enough to not pay heed to such comments.

“If that’s the case (India being more motivated after the second-string comment), we want him to make these statements more,” Raju added. ”No but I think these guys are professional enough. The Sri Lanka cricket team itself is struggling,” he said.

The three-match ODI series between India and Sri Lanka will kickstart from July 18.

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