Arjuna Ranatunga

Colombo: Arjuna Ranatunga, the 1996 World Cup-winning captain and a former chairman of Sri Lanka Cricket, spoke to The Telegraph at his office, some distance away from the centre of the city, on Friday afternoon.

A third-term Member of Parliament, albeit from a new constituency this time, Ranatunga talked about the top three run-getters for India in the drawn second Test, Sri Lanka’s attack and the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) wicket, which could’ve straightaway hosted another five-day game.

The following are excerpts

 

On Sachin Tendulkar (203)

I can’t recall the first time that I played against Sachin, but I do remember telling myself that the boy would have a long career and be a threat to every opposition... His commitment has been remarkable and it’s so nice that he values Test cricket so highly... He’s been taking a break from ODIs, but doesn’t miss Tests... Sachin’s USP is his ability to (a) quickly learn from mistakes and (b) out-think rival captains. That’s the hallmark of a truly great player... He outsmarted me a few times... Because he’s so sound technically, he has it in him to play Test cricket for as long as he wants. I’m not sure about the ODIs and he may retire from that form after the (2011) World Cup. On a personal note, I’d say he’s as humble and simple as he was some 20 years ago. I have nothing but admiration for him.

On Suresh Raina (120 on debut)

I’m not surprised that he got such a fine hundred on his Test debut... Not surprised by his success... In fact, a few years ago, I’d written that Gautam Gambhir and Raina would be India’s players of the future... I’m a little disappointed with Gambhir, but Raina has translated his hunger into something very special... His commitment is good and you can see that even at nets... Clearly, he looks set for big things.

On Virender Sehwag (99)

What’s there to say? Sehwag lives and dies by the sword... Tillekaratne Dilshan is like him... There’s no point asking either of them to tighten their defence. They won’t play forward defensive strokes.

On Sri Lanka’s bowling

Weak, with no Murali (Muttiah Muralidharan) and (Lasith) Malinga... It’s a matter of concern... Defensive fields just don’t help and I’m surprised that Sanga (captain Kumar Sangakkara) started with fielders in deep positions, despite having 642 on the board.

Finally, on the SSC wicket

(Shakes his head) It’s pointless having such wickets... In my time, at the same ground, we were able to bowl out the opposition twice... That’s not happening now... Surfaces should be such to help the home team win... For that, 20 wickets have to be taken, but that won’t happen if the bowlers are asked to deliver on surfaces such as the one used at the SSC... If everything is so batsman friendly, then why would youngsters become bowlers? We could actually face a serious issue. There’s no need to protect batsmen... And, why would bowlers sweat it out for days on end (in a Test) if they have the option of easy money from the IPL? Certain things need to be addressed quickly.