Ranatunga throws in the dice unleashing the first punch

Prides on the assumption that a one-horse race is in the making for cricket's hot seat that hides none from Media scrutiny:

by Callistus Davy

Nishantha Ranatunga

Probe reports, investigations and accusations are not likely to stand in the way of former Sri Lanka Cricket secretary Nishantha Ranatunga as he steps out to assure voters that he is the best for the top job of President in the sport's administration that will elect a new set of custodians on January 4.

Having initially entered the highly politicized Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) boardroom as a non-elected secretary in an Interim Committee in 2009, Ranatunga within a short span of time rose to become one of the most progressive and tough-talking administrators who withered many a storm and stood his ground to hobnob with the high and mighty while many others fell flat.

His present standing has even made him stronger in that he has now secured the support of his firebrand brother and Shipping Minister Arjuna Ranatunga who became probably the most influential voice in cricket affairs ever since he lifted the World Cup in 1996.

While critics slam cricket as a business, no longer a symbol of national pride, Nishantha Ranatunga differs by calling the game a precious substance.

"Cricket is like mining", he told the Sunday Observer in an interview. "You unearth a cricketer from somewhere like a gem and shape him into a national treasure.

The focus must be on players, the game, the stakeholders and the country and this has always been my priority". Ranatunga has already picked his team and in it are no strangers to both craft and controversy. Former president Upali Dharmadasa and Asanga Seneviratne along with Arjuna Ranatunga will be his candidates for the vice presidency while Hirantha Perera, a rising pro is tipped to vie for the secretary's post.

The treasurer's slot remains open.

Ranatunga will brag that what separates him from rival contestants is that he is able to digest Media criticism like a broadminded professional and is no ceremonial figure seeking prestige by grabbing the limelight.

"I have worn the Sri Lanka cap and there is no need for me to seek office (at SLC) for reasons other than the welfare of cricket. I want to bring into this system every player who won the World Cup.

We have to educate today's players that playing for the country is not like playing for money. That is my vision that I will be promoting", said Ranatunga who claims he's got 96 of the 144 votes at stake already in the bag.

But Ranatunga, who has survived nearly every political under-current, will have no easy task persuading critics that he played by the rules as he attempts to brush off his implication in a recent Probe Report that accused him of exploiting opportunities while being SLC's all-powerful secretary and at the same time functioning as the Chief Executive of the CSN television channel that came to be associated with international coverage of the Sri Lanka team.

"There is no need for anyone to talk about a 'conflict of interest'. I was the first person to record my conflict of interest and leave CSN. Even the Probe Report says Sri Lanka Cricket benefitted from a profitable deal with CSN", said Ranatunga.

It is still unclear who will confront Ranatunga when nominations for office-bearers of SLC open on Tuesday.

But whoever steps into the fray will have to counter Ranatunga's punches that he increased revenues at SLC by 600 percent, which includes marketing the Sri Lanka team for a highest ever Rs.1.2 billion in 2013.

Ranatunga is also preparing to confront a never-ending contentious issue which if sorted out could leave his rivals with nothing to sell when the question of sustaining quality domestic cricket in the country, which is often looked at as the mechanism that sets about preparing players for the international stage, is taken up.

That could see the formation of a zonal or provincial League where only the best teams will be able to survive and compete.