‘We have dignity’: Ranatung beats Sri Lanka in India’s “Group B” tour | Cricket News

The pattern that wins the World Cup attacks the country’s sports leaders for agreeing to tour India’s “secondary” party.

Sri Lankan World Cup winner Arjuna Ranatunga has blamed the island’s national sports officials for agreeing to a “second tier” tour of India.

Ranatunga, 57, said on Friday that the tour undermined the country’s “dignity” by attacking Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa and Sri Lankan Cricket.

Indian team Headed by Shikhar Dhawan arrived in Sri Lanka on Monday to prepare for the three international one-day and three-match Twenty20 matches that will begin on July 13th.

Major Indian stars such as Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant have been reported absent. They are all preparing for a Test series to be held in England next month.

“The Indian team that came to Sri Lanka is not their best, it is a secondary team,” Ranatung said. “Didn’t our sports minister or cricket administrators know that?”

“Sri Lanka may have fallen (in the standings), but as a crunchy nation we have an identity, we have dignity, we would not send our best to play for a B team in India.”

Ranatunga, who won the 1996 World Cup in Sri Lanka, said the game administration had deteriorated and called for a major clean-up to improve the standards and skills of the game.

He said the authorities have not taken into account the humiliation that Sri Lankan players will suffer.

According to Ranatunga, cricket leaders only considered financial gains.

“The secret to agreeing with Group B India is television rights,” Ranatunga said. “Management wants to make money with this tournament, even if it means putting our players against a B team.”

He also said some Sri Lankan players showed a lack of discipline due to poor management.

Vice-captain Kusal Mendis, opener Danushka Gunathilaka and incumbent goalkeeper Niroshan Dickwella withdrew from their current England tour after breaking the bio-safe COVID-19 bubble.