Arjuna Ranatunga, the captain who led Sri Lanka to its first-ever Cricket World Cup victory in 1996, has decided to resign from the Executive Committee of the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) in Colombo. Accordingly, he has taken steps to send his resignation letter to the current president of SSC, Mr. Ranjith Pandithage.
Notably, Ranatunga has accused some members of the Sinhalese Sports Club of prioritizing personal agendas over the development of cricket. He has also emphasized in his resignation letter that he has long been vocal about cricket development within the club. He noted that during the tenure of former president Mr. Tissa Ellawala, he and other senior cricketers were regularly consulted for their professional insight and advice regarding both club-level and national cricket.
He further stated in his letter that the SSC cricket team has now fallen into the second tier of the club tournament, attributing this decline to the aforementioned issues, and acknowledged that he has been criticized regarding the matter.
Ranatunga expressed concern over the behavior of certain committee members and some of the decisions made by the cricket committee, which he believes are detrimental not only to the club’s cricket program but also to Sri Lankan cricket as a whole.
Additionally, he noted that when Mr. Ranjith Pandithage was appointed as president, he had faith that there would be positive changes for the advancement of both the club and its cricket team. Based on this belief, he had continuously extended his support to Pandithage.
However, due to the ongoing decline in the club's cricket program and the committee's failure to implement genuine policy changes to rectify the situation, Ranatunga stated that he sees no value or benefit in continuing as a member of the Executive Committee. He emphasized that his decision to resign after being a member of the club for nearly 40 years was made with deep concern and disappointment.
He concluded his letter by expressing hope that policy-level changes aimed at the betterment of SSC’s cricket program will be implemented in the future.
