Sri Lankan legend Ranatunga applauds PCB, criticises own board over ‘upsetting’ remarks

• Ranatunga says PCB should not take Sri Lankan Cricket's officials statements 'too seriously.'
• The World Cup hero says SLC is not doing enough to help PCB in reviving cricket.

Sri Lanka’s World Cup winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga has applauded the efforts of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), while criticising the ‘upsetting’ statements of Sri Lankan Cricket (SLC) officials.

“I am sure the public statements by our officials must be upsetting Pakistan. They are doing their best to bring cricket back into the country and statements like these don’t help their cause. As a former captain, I must congratulate PCB for the excellent show they put up during our recent visit,” said Ranatunga, quoted The Island.

“All what I can tell the PCB is that don’t take what officials over here say too seriously. Neither do they understand the game nor what security is,” he added.

The statement comes after remarks made by Sri Lanka Cricket President Shammi Silva regarding security arrangements for his team during its recent Pakistan tour. “I got fed up staying inside the hotel for about 2-3 days. We have to think about the players and support staff and how it will affect them,” said Silva much to the dismay of PCB.

The legendary captain of Sri Lankan side said he understands what it is like to be deprived of cricketing opportunities at home. “Not many teams toured Sri Lanka in 1980s due to the war. We suffered enough and we know what it means to be deprived of playing cricket at home.”

“We see Pakistan suffering the same fate and we all must try and help them out. It’s a shame that SLC is not doing enough to help PCB. People running the game at present perhaps do not know how much Pakistan helped us during our early days,” he added.