The story of Arjuna Ranatunga's life?
Arjuna Ranatnga has been used to dealing with phantom-like outside forces. When he was up against the steam-roller Australians, it was not his field placing or his skills with the willow that were at fault. There was a fellow called Darryl Hair, an umpire, who was giving him trouble.

Though Arjuna stood up to Hair, he learned it is not easy to upend the system. They may have been cheering ''hear hear'' for him in Sri Lanka, but in Australia they were going ''Hair Hair'' for the umpire.

But, Arjuna's slightly cherubic manner, soon gave way to the befuddled manner of the man who has entered new territory -- that of politics. He may have grown up with cricket, but he was greying with politics.

He may have known his cover-point and his cover-drive, but he was hardly ever caught on television discussing the state of the economy, or even the state of infrastructure in his electorate in suburbia… That's partly because he was always good on the attack. He was in his element when he found in Darryl Hair, a formidable opponent.

In politics he hadn't yet found his nemesis. Until, that is, when he found Thilanga Sumathipala. Since Sumathipala came into the political scene, Ranatunga's political energies have become focussed. He is now even resigning from his posts. You could almost see him puffing up his chest. It was as if Darryl Hair was on the field.

But, Arjuna Ranatunga once aimed slurs at the Aussies who were the bullies, just the way Sumathipala is now a bully in Ranatunga's vision. He once called the Aussies a bunch of convicts when they were losing in the World Cup. (Not the one Sri Lanka won.)

The Australians came around, got out of jail, and attacked the Sri Lankans out of sight. In politics he would not have expected that kind of resistance - anybody getting out of trouble and thwarting his plans.

Yet, it's happening. Arjuna Ranatunga is not even in a position to make his wry comments anymore, because political reporters unlike sports reporters do not expect that kind of retort from him. In sports you can take on the phantom outsider, and maybe you have half a chance of becoming a hero. But, in politics, Ranatunga finds he has almost bitten off more than he can chew. Therefore the more he gets into politics, the more he ends up talking about cricket.

But Arjuna Ranatunga may see the social Darwinism in this. Somehow the rich or the powerful get their job done. There is nothing good about it -- but it can be fought by those who are dead set against this kind of survival of the fittest. But, sometimes, this social Darwinism can be in the reverse. Schoolboys losing cricket balls may get attacked by the richer -- the more powerful. For the schoolboys, that's also like the grand phantom from the outside, thwarting all their innocent efforts. Like Darryl Hair. But, when it happens to you, you feel dejected. You feel like resigning from your posts. You feel like saying, crikes its not cricket. It's not cricket of course -- its politics.

Back to Top

Back to Columns

Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers Ltd. All rights reserved.