July 19, 2006 (AFP) – Former Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga on Wednesday slammed the sports minister for the delay in naming a committee to oversee the sport in the island nation. Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapakse had last week, on the request of Ranatunga and other former players, ordered that elections to a deeply divided Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) be cancelled.
Rajapaske had also asked sports minister Jeevan Kumaratunga to name a panel to replace the SLC’s interim committee and bring in ex-players like Ranatunga to administer the sport.
The sports minister, however, has put off appointing a new committee and asked the existing panel under Jayantha Dharmadasa to continue for an indefinite period.
Ranatunga, who became a cult figure in the country after leading Sri Lanka to victory in the 1996 World Cup, said the government was going back on its promise to constitute a new committee.
“We have done our part and a promise was given to us by the countrys president that the cricketers will have a larger say,” Ranatunga told AFP.
“But after almost a week, the sports minister has not done anything. Frankly, there’s nothing much we can do. Now it’s in the hands of t