Selectors must resign: Ranatunga

Wednesday, 18 January 2012 00:25 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Former Sri Lankan cricket captain-turned-politician Arjuna Ranatunga says the current national cricket selection panel should be sacked following the team’s poor performance in the United Arab Emirates and South Africa.

Ranatunga also accused the government of interfering with Sri Lankan cricket, resulting in some senior players also making political comments instead of just focussing on the game.

Sri Lanka have had a poor run over the past few months, suffering a Test and One-Day International series loss in the United Arab Emirates against Pakistan and later losing the Test series in South Africa.

The most humiliating loss for Sri Lanka was recorded in the ongoing one-Day International (ODI) series against South Africa.

Chasing Proteas’ 302 runs for victory in the second ODI, the Sri Lankans were bowled out for just 43 runs, their lowest total in limited overs cricket.

Ranatunga told Xinhua in an interview on Monday that he suspected the current selection process for the national team was based on political considerations and not the performance of players.

He also said that the national selectors made a huge blunder when they failed to pick in-form batsman Thilan Samaraweera for the Test series in South Africa.

“Samaraweera was not picked in the original squad but was later included as a replacement for an injured player. He then went on to score two centuries and was the most consistent batsman in the series. The national selectors should admit that they made a blunder in the selection or they should either resign or be sacked,” Ranatunga said.