Arjuna Ranatunga Blames SLC for Mishandling the Ball-Tampering Fiasco

Former Sri Lanka World Cup winning skipper, Arjuna Ranatunga has lashed out at Sri Lanka Cricket board for mishandling the ball-tampering fiasco in the second Test against the Windies.

He felt it was the board who didn’t take the matters in hands properly which led to the suspension of skipper Dinesh Chandimal from the 3^rd and the final Test in Barbados.

Ranatunga hopes to become the head of the board in future. A man from the politics, Ranatunga blamed the board for the misconduct.

Chandimal was caught on the camera trying to apply a substance on the ball. He later got charged by the on-field umpires Ian Gould and Alem Dar for altering with the condition of the ball. The 2^nd Test was heading towards the 2^nd ever forfeit in Test cricket.

Dinesh Chandimal and the whole Sri Lankan team refused to take the field on Day 3 of the 2^nd Test, as the umpires ruled five penalty runs to the Windies score and change the ball.

Sri Lanka’s head coach, Chandika Hathurusingha and team manager Asanka Gurusingha got charged for breaching the spirit of the game. It comes as a huge shock especially after the fiasco which unfolded in Cape Town three months ago.

“There is no one at the cricket board to advise the team,” Ranatunga said.

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“If they knew that Chandimal had done something wrong, they should have worked out an amicable solution without escalating the problem,” he added.

Chandimal appealed against the sanction. However, his appeal got rejected by the Judicial Commissioner. He later got ruled out of the 3^rd and the final Test due to his misconduct in the 2^nd Test.

Chandimal fined 100% of his match fees

Chandimal also got fined 100% of his match fees for altering the condition of the ball. The further sanctions will get declared by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on 10^th July. It could mean Chandimal might well miss both the Tests against South Africa at home as well.

Ranatunga during his stint as a Sri Lankan skipper had held up a match for 12 minutes. It was when a young Muttiah Muralitharan was no-balled for chucking by the on-field umpire Darrel Hair. However, he feels that the two scenarios are not comparable at all.

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