SLC sends Letter of Demand to Arjuna Ranatunga, claims Rs. 2 billion
Members of the Executive Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) have sent a Letter of Demand (LOD) for “damaging the goodwill and reputation of the SLC and have deliberately made public comments by making false and defamatory accusations” and have claimed Rs. 2 billion for the same.
Ranatunga, the former Sri Lanka great and the 1996 World Cup winning captain was recently appointed Chairman of the National Sports Council.
The SLC statement read: “The Executive Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) at an emergency meeting held today (15th August) having extensively deliberated on the false, derogatory and distorted statement made by the newly appointed Chairman of the National Sports Council, Mr Arjuna Ranatunga during a recent Media Interview (Derana Big Focus), has decided to take appropriate legal action against him who has spoken with malicious intent, damaging the goodwill and reputation of the SLC and have deliberately made public comments by making false and defamatory accusations against the Executive Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket.
“Accordingly, Members of the Executive Committee have sent Letters of Demand to Mr. Arjuna Ranatunga, claiming Rs. 2 Billion as damages for the reputational losses that occurred to Sri Lanka Cricket and its officials by the said false and derogatory statement.”
Ranatunga had labelled SLC as “most corrupt institution in the country” and accused them to have “messed up everything” in terms of player management during his visit to the Karnataka Olympic Bhavan, Bangalore in May.
“Nobody asked me to step down the order, especially after having won a World Cup as captain, but that’s what a good leader does,” Ranatunga was quoted as saying by Sportstar.
“When you play cricket, you think of tomorrow, not today. Now, everyone is after their own personal glory. And our cricket board is the most corrupt institution in the country. They have messed up everything. We produce several young talented cricketers, but they are managed very badly.”
Ranatunga represented Sri Lanka in 93 Tests and 269 ODIs between 1982 and 2000, and one of country's top cricketers of his time alongside Aravinda de Silva. He led Sri Lanka in 56 Tests 193 ODIs - the most for the country in either formats - and played a key role in the emergence of Muttiah Muralitharan and Sanath Jayasuriya as world-class cricketers, among others.