Ranatunga slams ACC, ICC and BCCI for Pakistan, India reserve day policy

Former Sri Lankan cricketer Arjuna Ranatunga strongly criticized the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), International Cricket Council (ICC), and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) over their reserve day policy for the Pakistan-India Super 4 clash during the 2023 Asia Cup. 

Ranatunga expressed his disapproval of the decision to modify the rules for a specific team, highlighting concerns about the inconsistency and potential future repercussions. He emphasized that changing rules for a single team is worrisome and could set a dangerous precedent for future tournaments.

"You take the Asia Cup. You have rules before the tournament, but before that one game, they changed the rules. Where is ACC? Where is ICC? I am not very comfortable when you have a tournament where you change rules for one team. You are looking at a disaster in the future," Ranatunga said.

Ranatunga criticized the ICC and ACC for what he perceived as a lack of action and accountability, suggesting that their focus on maintaining positions stifles necessary discussions and decisions.

"I feel very sad for ICC and ACC because they just want to hold the positions. Former cricketers too don't open, simply because they need the bucks," he further added.

The former cricketer expressed worry that such changes might extend to critical matches like the India-Pakistan encounter in the upcoming ICC ODI World Cup. 

"I won't be surprised if they change the rule before the India-Pakistan game [at the upcoming ODI World Cup]. ICC will keep their mouth shut and say 'okay, do it'. ICC just talks rubbish, nothing happens," Ranatunga said.

Ranatunga stressed the need for a balanced representation of all cricket boards and individuals, advocating for fair decision-making and equal opportunities for all teams.

"Why do the other countries allow that to happen. Because the BCCI is powerful, or one particular person is powerful. No, it can't happen like that. They should have given an extra day for all the games if that was the case," he concluded.

It is worth noting that originally, only the final match of 2023 Asia Cup was supposed to have a reserve day, but after the group stage match between Pakistan and India was rained out, the rules were altered for this high-profile encounter, which began on September 10 and concluded on the reserve day, September 11, due to heavy rainfall in Colombo.