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by Ravi Ladduwahetty

Cricketers taking to politics. Yes. A new paradigm and a trend setter in resplendent Sri Lanka.

It came as a sequel to Wills World Cup winning Sri Lankan skipper Arjuna Ranatunga declaring that he will be contesting Colombo District on the PA ticket which he candidly described as:" My turn to show my appreciation of the steadfast support given to me by my country and my people....."

Arjuna Ranatunga's advent in the national political firmament is an embodiment of the backdrop of his Test debut as an 18 year old Ananda College schoolboy in Sri Lanka's inaugural Test against Keith Fletcher's England XI at the P. Sara Stadium on February 18, 1982.

He enters the SLFP/PA fold at a time when the party has experienced may macro scale visscitudes. With one PA strongmen S. B. Dissanayake, Nandimitra Ekanayake, Prof. G. L. Peiris, Lakshman Kiriella and the likes, who were all one time very close to President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga. With all of them now firmly in the UNP saddle, the party has gone through some dramatic transformation.

Now the nation will watch how Arjuna fares in his political debut on December 5. It is incontrovertibly with a manifest gush of nostalgia that Arjuna articulates that the main reason he wanted to do politics is that he wanted to serve the nation at its gravest time of need."

TREND SETTER

He also believes that his going in for politics will be a new trend-setter and that politics should be a vocation for any right-thinking person who has the commitment to serve the nation. He feels that it is that reason why he is in politics today.

He postulates that he has a lot of room to give the country and the nation what he gave the nation for 18 years in cricket from the inaugural Test and he thinks that the current political backdrop is an ideal forum for that, when this writer met him at Visumpaya, home to many a VIP of yore.

It all began when President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga and Urban Development Minister Mangala Samaraweera summoned Arjuna to a meeting at the President's House three weeks ago, where the three discussed the proposed action plan and what was expected from Arjuna.These were predominantly in the areas of sports and youth affairs.

Arjuna abhorred politics from the time he was a youngster despite his father being an SLFP loyalist for over 40 years. There was an ideal political climate when he was a baby but he thinks that environment does not pervade the country today.

"It is the country and the nation that I wanted to serve and I did not want to serve the political systems that prevailed in this country all this time," he said. He feels that this Government is not flawless, but the time has come for it to rectify its mistakes and go forward.

He feels that his father was not a profound influence on politics. He concedes that he comes from a political family and the political lines that he has grown up with. He feels that he has grown up with the experiences that the family faced due to politics.

Asked whether he was tipped to be Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs in the event of the Government winning the December 5, polls he said:" Designations are certainly important to serve the people! There was a period in the latter stages of his cricket career where he played under Sanath Jayasuriya even after relinquishing the captaincy.

CAMPAIGN

Commenting on his campaign in the run-up to the polls he said:" My objective is certainly not to engage in mud slinging exercises. My objective of politics is to serve the country at a time I am needed which I will do on a countrywide basis. I will be announcing to the people what I propose to do during the campaign". When asked how he sees his prospects on December 5, he said that he will face the verdict of the people with humility. "Cricket has taught me to take both success and defeat in equal spirit", he said, adding that the PA has all the ingredients for success.

Asked how he sees himself in the light of Imran Khan, he described how Imran was committed to a cause which he said would see the light one day. 'I am also like Imran in politics. I also like to play a straight bat, doing something for the country', he quipped.

"I will try my best to give my best like I did for cricket. However if I feel that I cannot continue I will gracefully leave. That is something I have told the President", he asserted.

Family members and loved ones have been against him taking to politics, in the current backdrop.

Father Reggie had allowed him to use his discretion in taking the decision. Subsequently, these fans had realised his commitment to his cause and conceded that conscientious persons like him should come out. "This is a good start", Arjuna added.

He feels that all his cricket fans are still behind him. He feels that he should serve he people without bias. Asked whether he will be continuing his cricket he said it depended on what assignments he takes on after December 5. " However, whatever the assignments I take, I don't think I will leave cricket'as I have been playing from the age of eight".

He has also been of tremendous assistance to colleagues whenever they had

problems even long after his playing days were over.

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