Former Sri Lankan skipper Arjuna Ranatunga has criticized Jay Shah, the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), for harming Sri Lankan cricket after their appalling performance in the 2023 ODI World Cup.
With a five-wicket loss to New Zealand in Bengaluru on Thursday, Sri Lanka’s miserable 2023 World Cup campaign came to an end. The past champions had to include individuals who weren’t originally on the team because of a number of injuries to some of their most important players and the team have failed to qualify for the 2025 Champions Trophy in Pakistan.
As per the Dailymirror, Arjun Ranatunga made the startling accusation that Jay Shah, the BCCI secretary, is severely harming the Sri Lankan Cricket Board and that there is a close relationship between Jay Shah and Sri Lankan cricket.
“Because of the connection between SLC officials and Jay Shah, they (the BCCI) are under the impression that they can trample and control SLC,” Arjuna Ranatunga added.
“Jay Shah is running Sri Lanka Cricket. SLC is being ruined because of pressure from Jay Shah. One man in India is ruining Sri Lankan cricket, He is only powerful because of his father, who is India’s home Minister,” Arjun Ranatunga said.
Over the past week, a lot has happened in Sri Lankan cricket, both on and off the field. Sri Lanka placed ninth in the points standings and could not qualify for the showpiece event in Pakistan.
Arjuna Ranatunga chaired an interim committee the day after Roshan Ranasinghe, Sri Lanka’s minister of sports, sacked the SLC board. But the nation’s courts imposed a 14-day stay order on the board’s dissolution a day later, so the board was back in action.
A few days later, because of substantial government interference in the board’s operations, the ICC suspended the cricket board with immediate effect. Sri Lanka looked good in the World Cup qualifiers, but they did not perform well in the 2023 World Cup. They have only won against the Netherlands and England and have suffered seven losses in the game.
The Sri Lankan team’s performance came under the scanner following their humiliating defeat against India in the Asia Cup final and ODI World Cup campaign and they will look to turn things around in the forthcoming series to rebuild their team going into the 2024 T20 World Cup.
