Arjuna Ranatunga facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Hon. Deshamanya Arjuna Ranatunga MP
Ranatunga in 2017
Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation
In office 20 December 2018 – 21 November 2019
President	Maithripala Sirisena
Prime Minister	Ranil Wickremesinghe
Preceded by	Nimal Siripala de Silva
Succeeded by	Mahinda Amaraweera
Ministry of Petroleum Resources Development
In office 22 May 2017 – 26 October 2018
President	Maithripala Sirisena
Prime Minister	Ranil Wickremesinghe
Preceded by	Chandima Weerakkody
Succeeded by	Kabir Hashim
Minister of Ports & Shipping
In office 12 January 2015 – 22 May 2017
President	Maithripala Sirisena
Prime Minister	Ranil Wickremesinghe
Preceded by	Mahinda Rajapaksa
Succeeded by	Mahinda Samarasinghe
Deputy Minister of Tourism
In office 2005–2008
President	Mahinda Rajapaksa
Prime Minister	Ratnasiri Wickremanayake
Member of Parliament for Gampaha District
In office 2015–2020
Member of Parliament for Kalutara District
In office 2010–2015
Member of Parliament for Colombo District
In office 2001–2010
President of Sri Lanka Cricket
In office 2008–2009
Incumbent
Assumed office 6 November 2023
Personal details
Born	(1963-12-01) 1 December 1963 (age 61) Gampaha, Ceylon (now in Sri Lanka)
Political party	Democratic National Movement (2015– present) Sri Lanka Freedom Party (2001 - 2010, 2015) Democratic National Alliance (2010 - 2015)
Other political affiliations	United National Front for Good Governance (2015– present) United People's Freedom Alliance (2004–2010,2015) People's Alliance (2001–2004)
Alma mater	Ananda College Colombo
Occupation	Politician, Cricketer
Personal information Nickname Captain Cool Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) Batting Left-handed Bowling Right-arm medium Role Batsman International information National side Sri Lanka (1982–2000) Test debut (cap 9) 17 February 1982 v England Last Test 6 August 2000 v South Africa ODI debut (cap 24) 14 February 1982 v England Last ODI 30 May 1999 v Kenya Domestic team information Years Team 1982–2001 Sinhalese Sports Club Career statistics Competition Test ODI FC LA Matches 93 269 205 307 Runs scored 5,105 7,456 11,641 8,491 Batting average 35.69 35.84 44.26 35.82 100s/50s 4/38 4/49 25/63 4/55 Top score 135* 131* 238* 131* Balls bowled 2,120 4,710 7,096 4,255 Wickets 16 79 94 98 Bowling average 65.00 47.55 32.81 43.41 5 wickets in innings 0 0 2 0 10 wickets in match 0 0 0 0 Best bowling 2/20 4/14 5/45 4/14 Catches/stumpings 47/– 63/– 108/– 78/– Medal record Men's Cricket Representing  Sri Lanka ICC Cricket World Cup Winner 1996 India-Pakistan-Sri Lanka Source: Cricinfo, 8 September 2015

Arjuna Ranatunga (born 1 December 1963) is a famous Sri Lankan politician and a former cricketer. He is best known for leading the Sri Lankan cricket team to win the 1996 Cricket World Cup. Many people see him as the person who helped Sri Lankan cricket become a strong force in the world.

After he stopped playing cricket, Ranatunga worked in different roles for Sri Lanka Cricket, which manages cricket in the country. He then followed in his father's footsteps and started a career in politics in 2005. He has served as a cabinet minister, including the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation.

He also helped young cricket players, like Praveen Jayawickrama, get serious about the sport. Recently, he was made the temporary head of Sri Lanka Cricket after the government suspended the cricket board. This happened after Sri Lanka lost to the Indian Cricket Team in the Cricket World Cup.

About Arjuna Ranatunga's Life

Arjuna Ranatunga's father was Reggie Padmasena Ranatunga, who was the Governor of Sabaragamuwa. His mother, Nandani Ranatunga, was a teacher. Arjuna has five brothers and sisters, including cricketer Sanjeeva Ranatunga. His son, Dhyan Ranatunga, also plays cricket.

Arjuna Ranatunga's Cricket Journey

His School Days in Cricket

Arjuna Ranatunga went to Ananda College. This school has produced many famous Sri Lankan cricketers. Some of them are Marvan Atapattu, Sidath Wettimuny, and Dinesh Chandimal. Arjuna won the Observer Sri Lankan Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year award twice, in 1980 and 1982. He was the first person to achieve this.

Playing for Sri Lanka's Youth Team

In 1980, Ranatunga played for the Sri Lanka Under-20 team against India Under-20. In his very first game, he scored 128 runs without being out. That Indian team had future stars like Ravi Shastri.

Starting His International Career

Arjuna Ranatunga made his Test debut on 17 February 1982. He was only 18 years old. This was Sri Lanka's very first Test match, played against England. He scored 50 runs in his first Test, becoming the first Sri Lankan to score a half-century in Test cricket. He also played in his first World Cup in 1983.

In 1986, he and Asanka Gurusinha made history. They were the first Sri Lankan batters to bat for an entire day in a Test match. They had an unbroken partnership of 240 runs against Pakistan. Ranatunga scored an unbeaten 135 runs in that match.

He was also a key player when Sri Lanka won its first Asia Cup title in 1986. He was the top scorer in the final against Pakistan, making 57 runs. He was also named the player of the series for his great batting and bowling.

Becoming a Captain

Ranatunga became the captain of the Sri Lanka national cricket team in 1988. He led the team for the next eleven years. He changed the team from a weak one into a strong and successful team.

He led the team to win the 1996 Cricket World Cup. He scored the winning runs in the final match. His new ideas as captain helped Sri Lanka, who were not expected to win, achieve cricket's biggest prize. Many cricket legends praised his strategies. He was known for his idea of scoring many runs in the first 15 overs of a One Day International (ODI) match. This strategy is still used today. He was also known for always defending his players.

Under his leadership, Sri Lanka also won the 1997 Asia Cup at home. This was their second Asia Cup title. Ranatunga was again the top run-scorer in the tournament.

In 1998, Sri Lanka achieved their first-ever Test win in England under his captaincy. This was also Sri Lanka's first Test series win in England. Ranatunga became the first Sri Lankan captain to win a Test match in England.

His younger brothers, Dammika and Sanjeewa Ranatunga, both made their Test debuts when Arjuna was the captain. This was a unique moment for Sri Lankan cricket.

The 1996 World Cup Victory

Arjuna Ranatunga is one of Sri Lanka's greatest captains. He led the national team to victory in the 1996 World Cup. He played in 93 Test matches and 269 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) for Sri Lanka. During the 1996 World Cup, Ranatunga scored 241 runs. He had the highest batting average in the tournament, which was 120.50.

Retirement from Cricket

Ranatunga stopped being the national team captain in 1999 after Sri Lanka did not perform well in the World Cup in England. However, he was still named one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year for that year.

In June 2000, Ranatunga played in Sri Lanka's 100th Test match. He was the only player to have played in both his country's first and hundredth Test matches. He retired from playing cricket in 2001. After that, he worked as a television commentator. In 2005, he joined the International Cricket Council's cricket committee. He was also appointed as the chairman of Sri Lanka Cricket in 2008.

Arjuna Ranatunga's Political Career

Arjuna Ranatunga started his political career by joining the Sri Lanka Freedom Party. In 2001, he was elected to parliament. After his party won in 2004, he became the Deputy Minister of Industry, Tourism, and Investment Promotion. He later resigned from this role to focus on managing Sri Lanka Cricket.

In 2010, Ranatunga joined the Democratic National Alliance. He became the deputy leader of the Democratic Party. In 2015, he supported Maithripala Sirisena in the presidential election. After Sirisena won, Ranatunga was appointed Minister of Highways, Ports & Shipping. In 2021, he resigned from the United National Party.

Career Highlights

Tests

• Ranatunga's highest Test score was 135 not out against Pakistan in Colombo in 1986.
• His best Test bowling was 2 wickets for 17 runs against New Zealand in Kandy in 1984.
• As captain, he led Sri Lanka in 56 Test matches, winning 12, losing 19, and drawing 25.

One-day Internationals

• He holds the record for the most runs scored by any batsman in ODI history when batting at number 5 position, with 4675 runs. He was also the first to score over 4500 ODI runs from this batting position.

International Centuries

Key to Tables

Test Centuries

Test centuries of Arjuna Ranatunga

No.	Score	Against	City	Ground	Date	Result	Ref
[1]	111	India	Colombo, Sri Lanka	Sinhalese Sports Club Ground	30 August 1985	Draw
[2]	135*	Pakistan	Colombo, Sri Lanka	P Sara Oval	22 March 1986	Draw
[3]	127	Australia	Colombo, Sri Lanka	Sinhalese Sports Club Ground	17 August 1992	Lost
[4]	131	South Africa	Moratuwa, Sri Lanka	Tyronne Fernando Stadium	25 August 1995	Draw

ODI Centuries

ODI centuries of Arjuna Ranatunga

No.	Score	Against	City	Ground	Date	Result	Ref
[1]	101*	Pakistan	Durban, South Africa	Kingsmead Cricket Ground	2 December 1994	Lost
[2]	102*	Pakistan	Gujranwala, Pakistan	Jinnah Stadium, Sialkot	29 September 1995	Lost
[3]	131*	India	Colombo, Sri Lanka	R.Premadasa Stadium	18 July 1997	Won
[4]	102	New Zealand	Colombo, Sri Lanka	Sinhalese Sports Club Ground	5 July 1998	Won

See Also

In Spanish: Arjuna Ranatunga para niños

• List of political families in Sri Lanka