New Delhi, Dec 17 (IANS) Sri Lanka’s world cup winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga has blamed Lalit Modi for India’s disappointing World Twenty20 campaign earlier this year and warned that growth of Twenty20 is not a good sign for cricket.
He was dismissive of the suggestion that Twenty20 leagues gave opportunities to young players.

“Only limited top players benefit and that is just financially. You need a balance between bat and ball for good cricket; Twenty20 will kill that for financial considerations,” Ranatunga was quoted as saying in the January issue of The Wisden Cricketer magazine.

“India lost the Twenty20 World Cup thanks to Lalit Modi. No one else. Lalit Modi and his IPL. When I was playing, there were players who always wanted to achieve something for their country - we used to play for our clubs for no money. It was an honour to play for our country. Not like nowadays.”

Ranatunga also warned that “a lot of unwanted people have started getting involved” with cricket.

“They will come in with Twenty20, they will burn money with Twenty20, then they will vanish.”

Ranatunga said given the correct security, he would be in favour of Sri Lankan teams returning to play in Pakistan.

“Provided we had proper security, as we had when we played the Asia Cup there, I would lead a team to Pakistan. Sri Lanka had these problems for 30 years (during the Sri Lankan civil war). If you’re going to stop playing because of terrorism, you’re going to end up with a shamed country.”