Ranatunga appointed head of Sri Lanka Cricket

	Arjuna Ranatunga takes over from Jayantha Dharmadasa, who held the post for over two years © AFP Enlarge

Arjuna Ranatunga, the former Sri Lankan captain, has been appointed chairman of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) following the resignation of Jayantha Dharmadasa from the post on Monday.

SLC sources stated that by virtue of his appointment, Ranatunga would replace Dharmadasa as chairman of the Asian Cricket Council for the next six months after which he will have to relinquish it. Dharmadasa was chairman for the first one-and-a-half years of a two-year term.

The board's media manager, Samantha Algama, said Dharmadasa sent in his resignation to the secretary of the Sports Ministry citing 'personal reasons'. Following Ranatunga's appointment, further changes are also expected in the cricket administration.

Dharmadasa was made interim chairman on March 24, 2005 by former Sports Minister Jeevan Kumaratunga and ran the day-to-day administration for close to three years. He replaced the democratically-elected body of Mohan de Silva, whose administration was accused of mishandling the board's funds.

Ranatunga, 44, served briefly on the Dharmadasa administration's cricket committee before resigning on the grounds that he was not happy at the way progress was being made. He has been a strong campaigner for change in the domestic cricket set up and feared that, unless radical steps were taken, Sri Lanka cricket was heading for disaster with no quality players coming out of the present system.

Having led Sri Lanka to victory in the 1996 World Cup, Ranatunga quit international cricket in 2000 after playing 93 Tests and 269 one-dayers and began a career in politics, following in the footsteps of his father who is a minister in the present government.