Arjuna Ranatunga Exclusive | Sri Lankan legend issues stark warning against cricket’s commercial slide, off... - Firstpost

Arjuna Ranatunga is no longer officially involved with cricket. But he keeps his ear close to the ground, is abreast of the developments and, as always, has a strong opinion on all matters regarding the sport. He still indulges in an occasional game of cricket; just a couple of weeks back, for instance, he was in Kuala Lumpur with most of his 1996 World Cup-winning colleagues, for a charity match -- ‘Aravinda (de Silva) still has the class,’ he tells you. Handpicked when he was still a schoolboy by the legendary Sir Garfield Sobers, who coached Sri Lanka from their inaugural Test match in 1982 to the 60-over World Cup in 1983, Ranatunga is credited with raising the stock of Sri Lanka cricket not just because he led the team to the 1996 World Cup, against all odds, but also because he stood up for the players and against the establishment when the need arose. In this freewheeling chat with Firstpost, the 62-year-old and former chairman of Sri Lanka Cricket reflects on his bond with the legendary all-rounder, who passed away last month, and laments the shift of focus from Tests and One-Day Internationals to the T20 format. Following are the excerpts from the interview: Sir Garry was a huge influence on your career. Can you talk us through the role he had in your development? I was very lucky that he saw me play when I was maybe 16 or 17 and grateful for his comments after seeing and speaking to me – that I would take Sri Lankan cricket to great heights. When he came to Sri Lanka as the coach, I was not in the list of even the first 35 players. But he insisted that I should be in the squad. The then (Sri Lanka Cricket) president, the late Gamini Dissanayake, told the selectors to include me in the squad, and that’s how I made my Test debut, in our first Test against England (February 1982). Those days, we were not respected, we were not treated well. We were a young cricketing nation. But suddenly, when we walked with Sir Garry to a cricket game or a dinner or whatever, people started to view us differently. He worked really closely on my technique. I can’t quantify the value of being next to him, of walking by his side, of sitting next to him at the ground. That’s how we developed self-confidence, standing next to Sir Garry Sobers. It was like electricity shooting through our system. We were very close, and I had the privilege of visiting him on his 80th birthday. Former West Indian captain Sir Gary Sobers (left) gives a few tips to Arjuna Ranatunga of Sri Lanka, 23 May on the eve of the first final to be played against Pakistan at the Mohali cricket stadium in Chandigarh. (B/W ONLY) (Photo by SEBASTIAN D'SOUZA / AFP) I was a tough little kid. Even when I played junior cricket in school, I hated losing; that attitude has stayed with me since my Under-12 days. I think that is one trait he too saw – maybe he was also impressed with my attitude, not just batting. Mr Dissanayake told me later, ‘Sir Garry said you have to protect this boy, he will change Sri Lanka cricket one day’. I’d like to believe, given that he protected and guided me, that I haven’t let him down, that I have met his expectations. When he passed away, I requested the cricket board to send someone for his funeral, but they didn’t, which was disappointing. Sri Lanka was the only national team he coached. He was also a teacher, a coach, a father figure, a friend of Sri Lankan cricket. How do you see the modern game as it exists? Is there a danger of the 20-over format cannibalising the longer, older versions? For me, Test cricket is the ultimate. But when it comes to the 50-over game too, you need to have proper technique. You need to have brains; you need to be focused properly when you are playing a slightly longer version. That’s why the value of 50-over cricket has to be protected. But it's a different, cruel world. Most players prefer to go into the shorter (T20) version, which is all about entertainment. Unfortunately, what we are giving the younger generations doesn't look nice. The guys who run cricket today prefer to earn money rather than protect the game. Whether it is the ICC (the International Cricket Council) or the ACC (the Asian Cricket Council), I don’t know if they have a plan to protect Test cricket or even ODIs. When we played, there was a distinct focus on 50-over cricket too, and the competition was intense. The younger generation learned the game, learned technique, and valued playing for their country. But unfortunately, the introduction of this shorter version and the franchise model has led to most of the guys training their sights on earning money. I hope I am wrong, but in 10 years’ time, cricket might well end up like soccer, which is ruled by clubs rather than the country. Also Read | Robinson and Tongue split match ball in half after both take five-fers in Leeds Test vs Pakistan That’s why the ICC must act proactively and quickly. Yes, you need money, players need money. But what about the players who used to play 40 years back? It’s they who have helped protect the game, money wasn’t their primary consideration. We all learned from them. When I started playing, in my first Test, we were paid Rs 250 a day. But we cherished wearing the national cap, wearing the national blazer, representing our country. Now, everything has become commercialised. The guys who run world cricket want to earn a quick buck and let cricket become a business. A 10- or 12-year-old kid in India or Sri Lanka would rather play in the IPL or the LPL or whatever franchise tournament rather than for the country. That’s why it is imperative for the authorities to protect the game, something they have failed to do. We need a lot of changes in governance to prioritise Test cricket, but I can’t see that happening. That hurts me. Aspiring youngsters take their cue from established players, they learn what they see from the star players, who are icons and role models. If they choose to play franchise cricket over representing their country, I don’t know… But the ICC does have the World Test Championship. For me, playing a Test tournament is not the criterion, it's all about playing bilateral Test matches, playing three- and five-Test series. What’s this two-Test series about anyway? It’s so unfortunate. This World Test Championship is another commercial venture. Sri Lanka's captain Dhananjaya de Silva (L) and his Indian counterpart Shubman Gill pose with the series trophy at the Galle International Cricket Stadium in Galle on August 14, 2026 on the eve of their first Test cricket match. An inexperienced India missing several key players face Sri Lanka in Galle from August 15 in the first of two Tests with coach Gautam Gambhir under immense pressure. (Photo by Ishara S. KODIKARA / AFP) Take the Ashes, for instance. When Australia play England, interest in Test cricket is huge. These countries, and maybe South Africa, they know the value of Test cricket, and that’s something us Asian countries have missed. We prefer to eat junk food, not proper, healthy and nutritious food. Ultimately, it's not the guys who are playing now who will suffer. It’s the 15- or 16-year-olds of today who will pay the price and that’s not going to change. That’s why I prefer to not get involved. I prefer staying away from this game, though I still watch Test matches on television. Asia once produced some of the best spinners in the world, but that seems to be changing gradually. What’s your take on maximising home advantage in Test cricket? That is correct, Asia has always produced good spin bowlers. That’s why we must try and capitalise on playing in our conditions when Australia or England travel to Sri Lanka and India. When we go to Australia or England or South Africa, they produce seaming tracks, bouncy tracks, and nobody can criticise them. But when they come to Asia, they will complain about the pitches. Let them. At the same time, we should be well prepared to counter the conditions when we travel overseas, and that can’t be done during Test matches. The building-up process must happen at the first-class level, where we must also have bouncy tracks or seaming conditions. But we must never give up our home advantage. When we played, we’d invariably have three very good spinners, but then again, so would India. And the Indian batsmen played spin much better than anyone else. There was one series (in India in 1997-98) when we drew all three Tests, and that was as good as winning a series in India, because trying to win in India was a nightmare. The talent they had, the technique, the shot selection, unbelievable – guys like (Mohammed) Azharuddin, Sachin (Tendulkar)… Also Read | Saransh Jain expected to debut in Colombo Test vs SL; India star likely to be excluded: Report But I will tell you this honestly -- if I had my 1996 team, with Murali (Muttiah Muralitharan) and Vaasi (Chaminda Vaas) and maybe a couple of spinners, we’d have a very good chance of beating this current Indian team or the current Pakistan team in their backyard. People say players have started playing shots, but as far as I am concerned, the batting standards have gone down compared to 30 years back. Maybe I am an old-fashioned guy. But give me the present Indian side against my old side, and I can state with certainty that we would have won a lot of matches. You were in your teens when you made your international debut. You also played against a very young Sachin Tendulkar. What do you make of the 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi? It is too early to talk about Sooryavanshi, he is just a kid. He should be allowed to just play his cricket rather than being put under too much pressure. He will be tested in the longer version, not in T20s. He will be a very good entertainer. But if he wants to survive in the longer version, I am sure he has to work on his technique. There are enough guys to guide him. There are people like Sunil Gavaskar, Azharuddin, (Rahul) Dravid, (Sourav) Ganguly and Tendulkar. There are so many great players in India, I am sure they will be the best people to guide him. I hope he learns from them, from the tough times they have gone through. It is very, very important to guide him properly. But ultimately, it depends on him -- whether he wants to be a proper cricketer or whether he wants to be an entertainer playing in the shorter version. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (@vaibhav_sooryavanshi09) For the time being, it’s best that he is left alone. He is a child, you are looking at a 15-year-old, let him be a child. But he will lose his childhood quickly if he isn’t handled properly. The biggest problem is all these managers and sponsors and the rest trying to promote him, spend money on him and get him on their side. If he falls into that trap, he will be ruined. That applies not only to Sooryavanshi but to all the younger guys. I am glad we were able to learn from Sunil Gavaskar, from (Gundappa) Vishwanath, the Indian greats. We looked up to them, we looked at them and learnt a lot. Likewise, I am sure Ganguly, Sachin, Dravid and (VVS Laxman) will be Sooryavanshi’s guiding light.