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George Cheriyan
CHENNAI, SEPT 23: Arjuna Ranatunga, or the `Diminutive Buddha' as he is called for his virtuous calm paid a surprise visit to the picturesque IIT-Chemplast ground, inaugurated by ex-Australian great Neil Harvey earlier this year.
Clad in light grey jeans, he trudged his frame to the pavilion, the plan of which is straight from the old Madras school of architecture, and warmly shook hands with S Venkatraghavan, Bishen Singh Bedi, Wayne Phillips and WV Raman who were watching the young Australian spinners perform in a match. Talking to Raman and setting his eyes on the middle where Michael di Venuto was batting, Ranatunga said with his typical sardonic smile, ``the Australians are using their feet, eh?''
Ranatunga, who is a frequent visitor to Tirupati and Puttaparthi, where he pays respects to the Kaliyug god and Baba respectively, was on a different pilgrimage altogether this time, rather an unusual one. His visit here had a mission and of course a vision in it. ``I came here to see the two stations, MRF Pace Foundation and the MAC Spin Foundation. I had a long chat with TA Sekhar regarding the possibility of sending eight to ten fast bowlers here to prepare for the World Cup, which is very important to us. In fact, we have been planning from the beginning of 1998,'' he said.
The pudgy captain, who made the 1996 edition a truly memorable one for his countrymen, looks at the 1999 World Cup as a long and laborious tract that he and his players had to traverse. ``I am not in a position to predict now. But it's going to be totally different. We have been working very hard. We have done it once and why not once again,'' he said confidently.
The Lankans have already put into practice some of the plans during the England trip. ``We wanted to see how the youngsters brace up to the situations without me and Ara (De Silva) in the county games. Sanath (Jayasuriya) was leading the side. Though he could not get runs in those games, he got it in the big match,'' he said.
Ranatunga, who was accompanied by the Lankan board president Tillanga Sumathipala, was lavish in praise for the MRF Pace Foundation and its efforts at unearthing fast bowlers for Sri Lanka. ``It has been doing a world of good for Sri Lankan cricket. Most of the fast bowlers of my time are from the Foundation. They are trained very well and Sekhar takes a lot of personal interest in their progress. We owe a debt of gratitude for what they have done. I am thankful that they have taken away one of our major headaches. Now we don't have to worry about fast bowlers as the Foundation has taken the task on itself,'' he said.
The Sri Lankan captain, who, like Zen practitioners, makes spontaneous moves on the field but unlike them with logic, admitted that the Emerald Island lacked quality spinners and the cupboard is virtually empty. He was quick to credit the stunning series victory against England to Muttiah Muralitharan. ``It was one man versus 10 batsmen. I didn't have another bowler,'' he said and added, ``I know that we don't have many good spinners. We have to work it out. There are many young 'uns coming up. I want to work out a programme with the Spin Foundation. But this is something for the future. It is essentially for the young cricketers, who can come over here and train regularly, and not for the present ones.''
Ranatunga said people should not read too much into the dropping of Roshan Mahanama, whose ambition of becoming Sri Lankan captain is quite well-known. He thinks the whole thing is a fandangle, phantasy and a figment of the media's imagination. ``Some people are trying to drive a wedge between us. I had a talk with him recently. He does not have any ill-feelings. Roshan has just one double century and two or three 50s in 58 innings. He has some technical problems which he is working on. I cannot drop Mahela, who has good scores. If I drop him, I cannot enter Colombo. I will be pilloried,'' he said.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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