If Sangakkara wants an investigation, so be it – Arjuna

Former Test cricket captain, Minister Arjuna Ranatunga stated that he was also in agreement that an investigation should be launched into the terror attack against the Sri Lanka cricket team in Lahore, Pakistan, back in 2009.

The Minister also requested to uncover what truly happened at the final match of the ICC World Cup in 2011.

Minister Ranatunga made the request upon meeting a group of newspaper journalists at the Ministry of Petroleum Resource Development in the morning today (13).

I know very well the true nature of the white-clad cricketers, the Minister added.

If Sangakkara is requesting for an investigation, then conduct an investigation, he said, but reminded that at the time of the Pakistan tour, the relevant authority of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) was held by the Former Secretary to the Ministry of Sports, S. Liyanagama.

He proceeded to explain that he had served as the Chairman of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) a few months before the Sri Lankan team’s Pakistan tour.

We conducted the ACC Asia Cup in Pakistan, which turned out to be a success, Ranatunga said.

Charlie Austin’s team then came up to me and expressed their desire to take part in the India Premier League (IPL) Championship, he added.

Minister Ranatunga then explained that he had refused to comply, on the grounds that it would be a betrayal of the country, which reportedly resulted in his removal from the SLC by the then Sports Minister Gamini Lokuge.

The Pakistan tour took place after I was ousted, during which, the team became the target of the terror attack, he confirmed, adding that as such, he believed an investigation must be launched to get to the bottom of the incident of 2009.