Arjuna Ranatunga on cricket: It is more like GAMBLING!

Lasith Malinga eventually bagged his 300th ODI wicket, and that too was the precious wicket of Virat Kohli

By: Ankit Banerjee |
September 1, 2017 1:47 pm

Former Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga has again got embroiled in a controversy after he equated the sport of cricket to ‘gambling’. Sri Lanka has missed out on 2019 cricket World Cup automatic selection as they were walloped by India in the 4th One Day International against India. Sri Lanka cricket has suffered since the retirement of stalwarts like Mahela Jayawardena, Kumar Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan. Sri Lanka won the cricket World Cup in 1996 and now, to miss out on direct qualification has a major setback to Sri Lankan cricket. Now they will have to look for a back door entry.

To this, the outspoken former captain spoke to the Indian Express, “I think the worst part is, to tell you honestly, our administration is very poor. Cricket is run by gamblers and cricket has become a gambling game. So you can’t blame the players.”

He further added, “I don’t agree with some of the things happening today, but unfortunately we don’t have a single person who has played international cricket in the cricket board. Some of these administrators were kept out for a long period by the former regime because they were not suitable. That’s where the entire thing has gone wrong.”

#TeamIndia extend their lead to 4-0 against Sri Lanka in the 5-match ODI series #SLvIND pic.twitter.com/d3VdCoEiDr

— BCCI (@BCCI) August 31, 2017

News has also come in that Lasith Malinga may throw in the towel after the completion of the Indian tour. If that is the case, then Sri Lankan cricket is set to be surrounded even more threatening clouds in the future. Sri Lanka was first whitewashed in the Tests and now face the repeat in coloured jerseys as they are already trailing 0-4, with another ODI left to go.

In the 4th ODI, Lasith Malinga eventually bagged his 300th ODI wicket, and that too, the precious wicket of Virat Kohli, who was looking to score a double century. Virat was dismissed for 131.