Establishing an ICC anti-corruption office in SL is a disgrace to the country - Arjuna

The setting-up of an ICC anti-courruption office in Sri Lanka is a disgrace to the country, Minister Arjuna Ranatunga said.

Minister Ranataunga, who captained the Sri Lanka cricket team to a World Cup win  in 1996, made these remarks following an event in Gampaha.

Speaking to reporters, he said that the new sports minister cannot make drastic changes overnight.

"In 2015, we had an unfortunate sports minister who had close ties with match fixers and destroyed cricket as a collective effort. The President and the Prime Minister were informed about this," Mr Ranatunga  was quoted as saying in statement from the Ministry.

Further, Minister Ranatunga said that it was the President's henchmen who were once controlling cricket and therefore should be held responsible for the current state of affairs.

"The world cup is only a few months away and it is not going to be an easy task for our cricketers considering the present situation," Ranatunga lamented.

Mr. Ranataunga said that there was a glimmer of hope since the cricketers were talented. However, he admitted that there were several issues within the administration that has affected cricket's progress.

He signed off by saying that he hopes to pay more attention to these problems during the upcoming SLC elections.