da dobrowin： Former Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga has overturned a proposed sportslaw preventing politicians from holding office in sports bodies
CricInfo11-Jan-2003Former Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga has overturned a proposed sportslaw preventing politicians from holding office in sports bodies.Sports Minister Johnston Fernando introduced the proposed law in parliamentin February 2002 with the specific objective of de-politicising sportsadministrations, particularly the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka(BCCSL).However, the Supreme Court in Colombo upheld a petition by Ranatunga, amember of parliament, clearing the way for his participation in theforthcoming cricket board elections.Ranatunga had complained that the proposed sports law which preventedpoliticians from holding office in sports bodies was a “violation of hisfundamental rights”.He was convinced that Fernando was trying to prevent him from holdingoffice: “When I heard about the policy, I felt that someone was trying todrag me out of sports, an area in which I wanted to help."Ranatunga is likely to contest against former board president ThilangaSumathipala in cricket board elections at the end of March.