Ranatunga joins ICC's Cricket Committee

Arjuna Ranatunga, the former World Cup-winning captain and current Member of Parliament, has ended a self-imposed exile from the Sri Lankan board and accepted an invitation to be Sri Lanka's representative on the ICC's Cricket Committee. Ranatunga is also tipped to become the chairman of Sri Lanka Cricket's own cricket committee.

Ranatunga will replace Aravinda de Silva, his former team-mate and friend, on the ICC and SLC committees. de Silva, the vice-president of Thilanga Sumathipala's ousted executive committee, has announced a desire in the local media to step down and clear his name after the allegations of financial mismanagement were leveled against his colleagues.

Ranatunga entered the board headquarters for the first time in nearly five years on Thursday morning and met Duleep Mendis, Sri Lanka's chief executive, to discuss issues and arrangements for an ICC committee meeting on May 16 and 17.

"This is the first time that I have been to the board for a long time because I have tried to distance myself from the board politics," Ranatunga told The Island newspaper. "I have been disgusted by what has been going on and I did not want my image to be tarnished. So much has changed in the board after five years - it's like a five-star hotel now.

"However, although I didn't get involved with the game directly, my rapport with the players remained. I am now looking to really giving something back. This Sri Lankan team has enormous talent and I was very keen when Jayantha Dharmadasa (interim chairman) asked for my services."

Ranatunga has a well-earned reputation for being freely outspoken and opinionated on cricket issues. Over the years he has been a regular critic of the ICC, especially over their treatment of Muttiah Muralitharan last year. His appointment as Deputy Minister for Tourism as not led to any significant mellowing and he's sure to be an active participant in the meetings.

Ranatunga's immediate task in the domestic circuit, if and when appointed as the head of the cricket committee, would be to look at the management team around the national side, the structure of the domestic tournaments and development of infrastructure in the outstations.